
aass„L12~l 



MINUTES OF THE COURT 

OF 

RENSSELAERSWYCK 



1648-1652 



Translated and edited 

by 

A. J. F. VAN LAER 

Archioist, Division of Archives and History 



ALBANY 
THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 

1922 



Wn 



R^7 



t LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 
ReC£IVED 

DEC 6 1923 

U CUMENTS DIVISION 



\ 



The University of tlie State of New York 
Division of Archives and History 

December 21, 1 922 
Dr. Frank P. Craves 

President of the University 

Dear Sir: 

I herewith transmit and recommend for publication the volume 
entitled Minutes of the Court of Renssehiersn>\)cl(, April 2, 1648 
to April 15, 1652, translated and edited by A. J. F. van Laer, 
Archivist of the Division of Archives and History. 

In point of view of date this volume precedes the Minutes of 
the Court of Fort Orange and Beveriv^cJf already published. 
Reference to the preface by the translator and editor will show 
the position which these minutes occupy in relation to the previous 
publication. Their importance in giving a picture of the legal, 
institutional and economic conditions of the time has already been 
called to your attention in the volume to which reference has 
been made. 

Very truly yours 

James Sullivan 

State Historian and Director 

Approved for publication 

Frank P. Graves, 

President of the Universitv and 

Commissioner of Education 

151 



PREFACE 

The court of the colony of Rensselaerswyck, whose minutes 
for 1648—1652 are published herewith, formed from an early 
date an important part of the judicial organization of the 
province of New Netherland. The court was erected by 
Kiliaen van Rensselaer by virtue of the power conferred upon 
him by the charter of Freedoms and Exemptions of 1 629, which 
provided that members of the Dutch West India Company who 
within four years after giving notice to the company should 
plant in New Netherland a colony of fifty adults should be 
acknowledged as patroons and should hold their land from the 
company as a perpetual fief of inheritance, with " high, middle 
and low jurisdiction." By these terms the patroons were 
authorized to administer civil and criminal justice, in person or 
by deputy, within the limits of their respective colonies and to 
erect courts whose jurisdiction should extend to matters affecting 
life and limb, although article 20 of the charter provided that 
from all judgments given by the courts of the patroons above 50 
guilders there should be appeal to the director general and 
council of New Netherlands 

The first step to organize a court in the colony of Renssclaers^ 
wyck was taken by the patroon on July 1 , 1 632, when he 
appointed Rutger Hendricksz van Soest schout and empowered 
him to administer the oath of schepen to Roelof Jansz van 



^ This appeal applied only to judgments in civil cases. According 
to the Dutch criminal procedure of that period, conviction was had only 
upon confession by the criminal, extorted by torture, if necessary. From 
sentences rendered upon such conviction there was no appeal. The 
right of appeal was largely nulHfied by a pledge which the patroon 
exacted from the colonists not to appeal to the supreme court of New 
Netherland. Kieft and afterwards also Stuyvesant held that this was 
an infringement of the charter, but the patroon, in a letter to Kieft, 
dated May 29, 1 640, maintained that a clause to that effect was 
inserted in the contracts with the colonists merely for the purp>ose of 
preventing them |K)m wasting their time and money in needless Htigation. 
See Van Rensselaer Bowier Mss, p. 476, and Doc. rel. to CoL Hist. 
N. Y., 1 :423. 

7] 



8 Colony) of Rensselaersrv\icJ( 

Masterland, Gerrit Theusz de Reus, Maryn Adriaensz, Brant 
Peelen and Laurens Laurensz, all of whom, with the exception 
of de Reus, were then residing in the colony. The patroon issued 
instructions for the schout and schepens on July 20, 1632, and 
sent these to the colony by his nephew Wouter van Twiller, the 
newly appointed director general of New Netherland, who also 
took with him a silver plated rapier with baldric and a hat with 
plumes for the schout, and black hats with silver bands for the 
schepens. 

Van Twiller sailed from the island of Texel, on the ship 
" Soutberg," shortly after July 27, 1632, and arrived at New 
Amsterdam in April of the following year. He had with him 
a power of attorney from Kiliaen van Rensselaer to administer 
the oath of schout to Rutger Hendricksz van Soest, but as far 
as can be judged from the meager information that js available 
did not administer the oath. 

Conditions, just then, were not favorable for the erection of a 
court in the colony. Differences had arisen in the board of 
directors of the Dutch West India Company in regard to the fur 
trade and efforts were made by those who were opposed to the 
agricultural colonization of New Netherland to deprive the 
patroons of the pr^vileges granted to them by the charter of 
Freedoms and Exemptions. Van Rensselaer complains of this 
in a memorial presented by him to the Assembly of the XIX on 
November 25, 1633,^ in which he makes the statement that in 
July, 1632, he had people and animals enough to start five farms, 
but that his efforts were frustrated because the Company refused 
to let him have carpenters, smiths and other mechanics and also 
declined to furnish his people with supplies, in exchange for grain 
and dairy products. 

Taking this statement in connection with the facts that Rutger 
Hendricksz' term of service as a farmer was about to expire and 
that his name does not appear in the records of the colony after 
1634, it seems safe to conclude that when Van Twiller arrived 



^ Van Rensselaer Bonner Mss, p. 235-50. 



Court Minutes, 1648-1652 9 

in New Netherland Rutger Hendricksz had determined to leave 
the colony and declined to accept the position of schout. 

Van Twiller wrote to the patroon and recommended Brant 
Aertsz van Slichtenhorst for the post/ but before his letter was 
received the patroon had already made other arrangements and 
entered into a contract with Jacob Albertsz Planck, whereby the 
latter was engaged as schout for the period of three years. 
Planck received his instructions on April 27, 1634, and soon 
after sailed for the colony, where he arrived on or just before 
the 1 2th of August. His instructions provided that on his arrival 
in New Netherland he was to present himself before Director 
Van Twiller and to request him to administer to him the oath 
of office " instead of to Rutger Henrickssz, according to previous 
power of attorney " and, furthermore, that at the first oppor- 
tunity he was to choose three schepens from among the fittest of 
the colonists, so that he could hold court if need be. Presumably, 
therefore, the court of the colony was first organized shortly after 
August 12, 1634. 

The court as then constituted corresponded to the usual courts 
of schout and schepens as they at that time existed in most of 
the manors of the Netherlands. It was evidently intended to be 
a court of limited civil and criminal jurisdiction, for the patroon, 
in a letter to Wouter van Twiller, dated April 23, 1634, dis- 
tinctly states that Michiel Pauw, in his colony of Pavonia, calls 
Cornelis van Vorst his " chief officer," but that for his own 
reasons he desires that " Jacob Planck shall as yet not be other- 
wise entitled than as officer," thereby indicating, it seems, that 
he was not to have the rank of a city schout, or the presiding 
officer of a superior court having power to inflict capital punish- 
ment.^ 



^ Van Rensselaer Bowier Mss, p. 281. 

^Wassenaer, under date of November 1626, speaking of the court 
at Manhattan as at first established by Minuit, says: "The council 
there administers justice in criminal matters as far as imposing fines, 
but not as far as corporal punishment. Should it happen that any one 
deserves that, he must be sent to Holland with his sentence." J. F. 
Jameson, Narratives of New Netherland, p. 84. 



10 Colony of RensselaersTv^ck 

Planck not only held the position of schout, but also that of 
commies, or trading agent and administrative officer of the 
colony. His services were not satisfactory, so that at the expira- 
tion of his term, in August 1637, he was not reappointed. The 
patroon, however, had difficulty in finding a suitable successor 
and requested Planck to remain until the arrival of Arent van 
Curler, who was sent out as his assistant in the latter part of 
December of that year. Planck was back in Holland in August 
1 639, and probably left the colony shortly after May 1 2th, when 
the patroon wrote to Director General Kieft: ** I am negotiating 
about sending some people of capacity to my colony, but they 
were not able to make up their minds so quickly and to get ready, 
and in the former officer, Jacob Planck, I do not find a proper 
manager. He knows more about trading furs, which have been 
of greater profit to him than to me; however, I wish to part with 
him in friendship and not to give the least occasion for dissatis- 
faction among my people, for they stir one another up." Having 
failed to find a successor to Planck, the patroon, the same day, 
entrusted the administration of justice and the general manage- 
ment of the colony to three gecommitteerdert, or commissioners, 
namely, Arent van Curler, Pieter Cornelisz van Munnickendam 
and Cornelis Teunisz van Breuckelen. Of these, the first was 
made secretary and bookkeeper of the colony and until further 
order was also to act as officer and commies, the second was 
made receiver of tithes and supercargo of the vessel, and the 
third was appointed the patroon's voorspraecl^e, or attorney, to 
defend his interests. These three commissioners managed the 
affairs of the colony until the arrival of Adriaen van der Donck, 
who was commissioned officer of justice on May 13, 1 641 . Just 
how long Van der Donck held the post of officer is not known. 
He arrived in the colony in August 1 64 1 , and like Planck and 
other officials of the colony was probably appointed for a period 
of three years, so that his term of office would seem to have ex- 
pired in August 1644.^ , 

1 Cf. Doc. rel. to Col. Hist. N. Y. 1 :431. 532-33. 



Court Minutes, 1648-1652 1 1 

Just about this time word must have reached the colony of the 
death of the patroon. An entry in the minutes of the director 
general and council of New Netherland under date of August 8, 
1 644/ in which reference is made to *' the heirs of Mr Renselaer, 
deceased," shows, namely, that Kiliaen van Rensselaer died, not 
in 1646, as stated by O'Callaghan, Brodhead and all other 
writers, but some time prior to August 1644, and perhaps as 
early as the fall of 1643, when the patroon's letters to the colony, 
published in the Van Rensselaer Borvier Manuscripts, ceased. 

The patroon's estate and title now descended to his eldest son, 
Johannes, who, being a minor, was with his property placed 
under the guardianship of his uncle Johan van Wely and his 
cousin Wouter van Twiller. Upon these guardians, therefore, 
devolved the duty of appointing a successor to Van der Donck. 
The latter had been lax in the performance of his duties, so that 
many abuses had sprung up in the colony and a firmer hand was 
needed in dealing with the colonists. The man chosen for this 
purpose was Brant Aertsz van Slichtenhorst, the same person 
who in 1633 had been recommended by Van Twiller for the 
position of schout of the colony. 

Van Slichtenhorst was appointed director of the colony on 
November 10, 1646, but before this appointment was made. 
Van der Donck had already left the colony and Nicolaes Coorn, 
the commander of Rensselaers-'Steyn, a small fort on Beeren 
Island, at the southern entrance to the colony, had taken his 
place. Coorn acted as officer of the colony until Van Slichten- 
horst's arrival in March 1648, but was then given the title of 
OfUcier Lu^tenant, or deputy sheriff, and made Van Slichten- 
horst's assistant, in which capacity he was soon succeeded by the 
latter's nephew, Gerrit van Wenckum. 

Of the records of the court, from its organization in 1 634 to 
the end of Nicolaes Coorn's term as officer, nothing has been 
preserved and little is known of what actually happened in the 



'Neiv York Colonial Mss, 4:99. 



12 Colony of Rensselaerslv^cJ^ 

colony beyond what may be gathered from the patroon's corre- 
spondence, which stops in 1 643. 

Several facts, however, are known which show, not only that 
court was held between 1 643 and 1 648, but that during or even 
before this period the court had ceased to be a court of limited 
civil and criminal jurisdiction. One of these facts is that on 
February 4, 1644, and again on August 28, 1647, sentence of 
banishment was pronounced on Willem Jeuriaensz; another, that 
on August 13, 1644, a similar sentence was pronounced on 
Adriaen Willemsz; and still another that, apparently in 1646, 
Wolf Nyssen, a native of Fulda, in Hessen,^ was executed for 
a crime which is not mentioned in the accounts. This execution 
is the only case of capital punishment in the colony of which we 
have any record. The sentence was carried out by a negro 
named Jan, who received 38 guilders for the task. The name 
of the negro does not appear in the account books of the colony 
except under the date mentioned above. It is probable that he 
was a slave belonging to the Company, who had been hired for 
the special purpose, for on March 9, 1643, in connection with 
the arrest of refractory colonists, the patroon wrote to Van der 
Donck: " I am alrnost thinking of asking some of the negroes 
(with consent of the honorable Director Kieft) or even to employ 
for. your assistance some Indian of good courage and obedience 
who would then also be of service to you in other things." " 

Van Slichtenhorst, as already stated, was appointed on 
November 1 0, 1 646. He received his instructions and took the 



^"t'Stdft Vol in Hessenlant;" N Y. Col Mss, 2:61a; 3:135a. Cf. 
Van Rensselaer Bowier Mss, p. 830, where "t'Stift" has been inter- 
preted erroneously as referring to the Sticht, or bishopric of Utrecht. 

- Van Rensselaer Bon>ier Mss, p. 642. September 27, 1646, a slave 
named Jan Francisco, the younger, was manumitted by the director gen- 
eral and council of New Nfetherland at the request of Domine Mega- 
polensis. This may have been the negro who was employed to carry 
out the sentence in the colony. See Laws and Ordinances of New 
Netherland, p. 60. 



Court Minutes, 1 648-/ 652 13 

oath of office on Septerriber 4, 1647/ and on the 26th of the 
same month sailed for his post. He landed in Virginia on 
December 12th, thence proceeded by another ship to Manhattan, 
which he reached on February 7, 1648, and finally arrived in 
the colony on March 22d. Van Slichtenhorst was then 59 years 
of age/ He was born at Nykerck, in the province of Gelder- 
land, where his ancestral estate, known as the Aert-Brantsgoed, 
extending on both sides of the Slichtenhorst road, adjoined the 
property of the Van Twillers and was situated not far from Cor- 
laer, the original seat of the Van Curlers. Thus, long before his 
coming to New Netherland, he must have been well acquainted 
with both Wouter van Twiller and Arent van Curler, the latter 
of whom was at the time of his appointment in Holland and 
returned with him to New Netherland. 

Van Slichtenhorst married early in January 1614, at Nykerck, 
Aeltje van Wenckum, a distant relative of Kiliaen van Rens- 
selaer, by whom he had nine children, namely, four sons and 
five daughters, of whom Arend, the historian of Gelderland, and 
a daughter Goudje, or Hillegonda, remained in Holland. A 
younger daughter, Margaret, and his son Gerrit ^ accompanied 
him to New Netherland, and the other children died young. He 
was a deacon of the Dutch Reformed Church at Nykerck from 



^ For abstracts of Van Slichtenhorst's commission and instructions and 
the form of the oath, see G. Beernink, De Geschiedschrijver en Rechts- 
geleerde Dr. Arend van Slichtenhorst en zijn vader Brant van SUchten' 
horsl, Stichter van Albany, Hoofdstad van den Siaat NeXe-York (Werken 
uitgegeven door de Vereeniging Gelre, No. 12), Arnhem, 1916, 
p. 155-64. 

'According to Mr Beernink, Van SHchtenhorst was on January I, 
1656 more than 67 years old, and in 1664, 76 years of age. See 
his biography, p. 216, 255. 

^ Gerrit van Slichtenhorst married Aeltje Lansing. He had a daughter 
Aeltje, or Alida, bom at Beverwyck, who married, first, Gerrit van 
Schaick, and secondly, Pieter Davidz Schuyler. In O'Callaghan, 
History) of Nerv Netherland, 2:69, this daughter Aeltje is erroneously 
given as a daughter of Brant Aertsz van Slichtenhorst. Margaret, or 
Grietje, van Slichtenhorst became the wife of Philip Pietersz Schuyler. 
Cf. G. W. Schuyler, Colonial New York, 1 :1 79, and also 1 :1 71. where 
Arent van Slichtenhorst is erroneously called Brant Aertsz van Slichten- 
horst's brother. 



14 Colony of RensselaersW])cI( 

1619 to 1622, and from 1621 to 1627 was subcollector at the 
same place for Joncker Carel Bentinck ten Berencamp, one of 
the representatives of the nobility of the district of the Veluwe, 
who held the lucrative office of collector or receiver. 

Van Slichtenhorst's name first appears in connection with New 
Netherland under date of June 25, 1 632, when he was appointed 
commissary of stores by the Amsterdam Chamber of the Dutch 
West India Company/ He was to sail in that capacity to New 
Netherland in the company of Director Wouter van Twiller, 
but was unexpectedly detained by his former employer, Bentinck, 
owing to a litigation in which the latter was involved with the 
inhabitants of Nykerck. Having, in view of his appointment, 
already disposed of his property at Nykerck, Van Slichtenhorst 
first removed to Harderwyck,^ where his son Arend attended the 
university, but soon after changed his residence to the city of 
Amersfoort, where from 1636 to 1644 he held the position of 
lieutenant schout, and where he remained until his departure for 
New Netherland in 1647. Before coming to New Netherland, 
therefore. Van Slichtenhorst had considerable experience, both 
as an administrative officer and as deputy schout. 

His contract with the guardians of the young patroon provided 
that he was to hold'the positions of hoofd-ofUcier and director of 
the colony for the period of three years from the date of his 
arrival in the colony. As hoofd-oficier, he was to preside over 
the court, to act as public prosecutor and to perform the com- 
bined duties of a modern sheriff and chief of police. As director, 
he was the chief administrative officer of the colony and as such 
was to collect the patroon's revenues derived from farms, mills, 
licenses to trade, etc., of which he was to render a strict account, 



^ For a facsimile of this commission and a printed copy of the text, 
see Beernink, p. 69, 77. 

^ Mr Beernink, p. 83, states that the principal street at Harderwyck, 
called the Donkerstraat, was on account of its many prominent residents 
dubbed the Jonkerstraat. It is not unlikely that the Jonker straet at 
Beverwyck, or Albany, afterwards corrupted to Yonker street, derived 
its name from this nickname of the corresponding street at Harderwyck. 



Court Minutes, 1648-1652 15 

with the understanding, however, that he was not to engage in 
the fur trade, or to act as commies. For the performance of 
these various duties he was to receive a salary of 900 guilders a 
year, of which 1 50 guilders were to be paid in Holland to his 
daughter Hillegonda, who shortly after his departure married at 
Nykerck Pieter van der Schuer. In addition to this salary. Van 
Slichtenhorst was to receive one third of the fines and the pro- 
ceeds from confiscated property, above the amount of ten guil- 
ders ; below that amount, he was to have the entire sum, provided 
that one half was to go the deputy schout. As a third source of 
income, he was to have the toepachten, or fees paid in addition 
to the annual rent and tithes of the farms. 

The contract further provided that with his daughter Mar- 
garet, his son Gerrit, and his nephew Gerrit van Wenckum, the 
director was to enjoy free passage and board to New Nether- 
land ^ and that in addition he should receive 1 50 guilders for 
moving expenses. After his arrival in the colony, he was to 
have, rent free, the house and garden formerly occupied by the 
commies, Arent van Curler, and, furthermore, four cows and 
two horses on shares, 8 acres of plowed land and as much pasture 
as was needed for the horses and cattle. Finally, he was to 
receive 5 per cent of the profits of the trade which the guardians 
expected to carry on between Amsterdam and New Netherland, 
but in regard to which they at that time did not wish to commit 
themselves definitely. 

Van Slichtenhorst's instructions, dated September 4, 1647, 
consisted of 24 articles. They provided in substance that upon 
his arrival at the island of Manhattan he was to present his 
respects to the director general and deliver to him a letter from 
the guardians of the patroon. At the first opportunity he was 
to proceed to the colony, call upon Domine Megapolensis, make 
known his official capacity and ask his advice in regard to the 



^ Van Slichtenhorst's wife died before January 1, 1645, and there- 
fore did not accompany him to New Netherland. See Beernink, 
p. 119. 



16 Colon}) of Rensselaersivycli 

administration and redress of the colony. He was then to present 
his commission to the council, thank the members for their serv- 
ices and summon Anthony de Hooges and Abraham Staets, in 
order to notify them of their appointment as gecommitteerden by 
the patroon. He was furthermore to make regulations for the 
proper observance of the " Sabbath of the New Testament," to 
enforce the contracts and the ordinances, to collect the revenues, 
and to attend to the proper administration of justice, taking care 
not to keep persons for a long time in detention at the expense of 
the colony, but to bring them speedily to trial and, whenever 
required, to inform the court of the names of the persons who 
were in custody and the cause of their arrest. 

The court as organized by Van Slichtenhorst consisted at first 
of four and afterwards of five persons, of whom two were desig- 
nated as gecommitteerden, or commissioners, and two, or after- 
wards three, are in the record indiscriminately referred to as 
raden, raeispersonen, gerechtspersonen, or rechtsvrienden. The 
duties of the gecommitteerden were primarily of an administrative 
nature, while those of the raden, contrary to what one might 
expect from the title, seem to have been chiefly judicial. The 
gecommitteerden represented the patroon and acted under definite 
instructions from the guardians. The raden, on the other hand, 
were appointed by the director, but represented the colonists, it 
being at that time held sufficient if persons who were to represent 
others were chosen from among them, so as to represent their 
class. The only requirement was that they should not be in the 
patroon's service. Goossen Gerritsz made a point of this on 
October 22, 1648, when as one of the reasons for his being 
unable to accept the office of gerechtspersoon he stated that he 
was " not yet on a free basis with the patroon." The objection, 
however, was overruled, so that he was obliged to serve. 

The members of the court were as a rule chosen from among 
the most prominent residents of the colony. De Hooges, one of 
the first commissioners, had been sent out in 1641 as assistant to 
Arent van Curler. Upon the latter's departure for the Nether- 



Court Minutes, 1648-1652 17 

lands, in October 1 644, he was put in charge of the colony and 
given the title of commies. . After the arrival of Van Slichten- 
horst, he became secretary of the colony, a position which he 
occupied until his death in October 1655. Staets was a surgeon 
and trader, who came to the colony in 1 642. He held the office 
of raetspersoon from February 5, 1643, to April 10, 1644, and 
from the latter date to April 10, 1648, was Presideerende, or 
presiding officer of the council. As gecommitteerde, he was 
before June 5, 1649, succeeded by Jan van Twiller, whose place 
in turn, on January 5, 1651, was taken by Arent van Curler. 
The office of raet, or gerechispersoon, was held by such men as 
Andries de Vos, Rutger Jacobsz van Schoonderwoert, Goossen 
Gerritsz van Schaick, Jan Verbeeck and Pieter Hertgers, all of 
whom were prominent members of the community, and who 
afterwards became members of the court of Fort Orange and 
Beverwyck. 

The proceedings of the court presided over by Van Slichten- 
horst cover the period from April 2, 1648, to April 15, 1652. 
They form the most important source for the history of the colony 
during that period, but unfortunately add but little to what is 
known from other sources in regard to the outstanding event of 
that period, namely, the controversy between Van Slichtenhorst 
and General Peter Stuyvesant regarding the jurisdiction of the 
. territory around Fort Orange, which forms one of the dramatic 
episodes of the history of New Netherland. As is well known, 
this controversy had its origin in the claim made by the patroon, 
as early as 1 632, that " all the lands lying on the west side of 
the river, from Beyren Island to Moeneminnes Castle," 
" even including the place where Fort Orange stands,"^ had been 
bought and paid for by him. The Dutch West India Company, 
on the other hand, maintained that the territory of the fort, which 
was erected several years before the land of the colony was 
purchased from the Indians, belonged to the Company and con- 

^ Instructions to Rutger Hendricksz van Soest, July 20, 1 632 ; Van 
Rensselaer Bowler Mss, p. 212. 



18 Colony of Rensselaersrv])cff; 

sequently was not included in the patroon's purchase. The ques- 
tion had remained unsettled during the lifetime of Kiliaen van 
Rensselaer, but came to an issue when Van Slichtenhorst, soon 
after his arrival in the colony, began to issue permits for the 
erection of houses in the immediate vicinity of the fort. Stuy- 
vesant objected to the erection of these houses on the ground that 
they endangered the security of the fort and ordered the destruc- 
tion of all buildings within range of cannon shot, a distance at 
first reckoned at 600 geometrical paces of 5 feet to the pace, 
but which afterwards was reduced to 1 50 Rhineland rods.^ The 
order called forth a vigorous protest from Van Slichtenhorst, who 
regarded it as an unwarranted invasion of the patroon's rights, 
and he proceeded with the erection of the buildings. A counter 
protest followed and in 1 65 1 charges were brought against Van 
Slichtenhorst, who was summoned to appear before the director 
general and council at Manhattan and there detained for 4 
months. The controversy continued after his return, but was 
definitely settled on April 10, 1652, when a proclamation, drawn 
up by the director general and council of New Netherland on the 
8th of the same month, was issued in the colony for the erection 
of a separate court for Fort Orange, independent of that of the 
colony. 

The erection of this court was a serious blow to the colony of 
Rensselaerswyck, from which it never fully recovered. By. 
virtue of this proclamation, the main settlement of the colony, 
which' was known as the Fuyck, but Which in the court record 
is generally referred to as the by^eenrvortinge, or hamlet, was 
taken out of the jurisdiction of the patroon and erected into an 
independent village by the name of Beverwyck, which after- 
wards became the city of Albany.^ As a result of this action. 



^Doc. rd. to Col. Hist. N. Y., 14:191. One Rhineland rod equals 
12.36 English feet. 

^The directors of the West India Company afterwards repudiated 
Stuyvesant's action and on April 2, 1674, declared: "That the 
abovenamed Patroon Renselaer and co-partners have been already, 
from the year XVI*^ and thirty, and are true owners of the abovenamed 



Court Minutes, 1 648-/ 652 19 

the jurisdiction of the court of the colony was thereafter confined 
to the sparsely settled outlying districts of the colony, so that the 
cases which came before it must have been very few. No con- 
secutive judicial record of the court of the colony after April 15, 
1 652, has been preserved, but entries in the minutes of the court 
of Beverwyck indicate that the court of the colony continued to 
hold sessions. 

Van Slichtenhorst vigorously protested against the erection of 
the court of Fort Orange and Beverwyck and with his own hands 
tore down the proclamation which had been posted on the house 
of the patroon. For this he was arrested on April 1 8, 1 652, and 
taken to Manhattan, where he was detained until August 1653. 
With his arrest. Van Slichtenhorst's administration came to a close. 
On July 24, 1652, he was succeeded as director by Jan Baptist 
van Rensselaer^ and as officer of justice by Gerard Swart, so 
that thereafter the two functions were no longer combined in one 
person. The latter had been commissioned schout on April 24, 
1652,^ and continued to hold this position until 1665, when by 
order of Governor Richard Nicolls the court of the colony was 
consolidated with that of Fort Orange and the village of Bever- 
wyck. The year 1 665 therefore marks the end of the existence 
of the first local court that was organized in the province of New 
Netherland, outside of New Amsterdam. 

Van Slichtenhorst returned to the Netherlands shortly after 
July 1655 and took up his residence with his daughter Hille- 
gonda, who at Nykerck had married Pieter van der Schuer. 



hamlet named Beversn^^ck or IVillemstadU and that the possession by 
their late Director could not take away nor diminish said ownership; 
declaring, therefore, that the abovenamed Company has no right, action 
nor pretension thereto, leaving the right of ownership in the abovenamed 
Patroon and associates" Doc. rel. to Col Hist N. Y., 2:558. 560-61. 

^ Johan Baptist van Rensselaer had been in the colony since June, 1 65 1 . 
Van Slichtenhorst's term as director expired on March 22. 1651, but he 
continued to exercise his functions until his arrest on April 18, 1652. 

^Swart's commission, dated April 24, 1652, and his instructions, 
dated May 6, 1652, are printed in O'Callaghan, History of Nctv 
Netherland, 2:564-66. 



20 Colony of Rensselaer Sivy ck 

Before his departure from the colony, the commissioners had 
approved a debit and credit account covering the years 1648— 
1650, which showed that for this period of his administration 
there was due to him from the patroon the sum of 13,799 guil- 
ders, 2 stivers and 12 pence/ The patroon considered this 
amount excessive and refused to pay it, whereupon Van Slichten- 
horst brought suit against him in the district court of the Veluwe, 
in the province of Gelderland. Judgment was given for the 
plaintiff, but on an appeal taken by Van Rensselaer to the 
KlaarbanJi, or court of appeals, at Engelanderholt the decision 
was reversed, so that in the end the former director failed to 
recover any considerable amount. The case dragged on in the 
courts from 1656 to 1661. The following year. Van Slichten- 
horst commenced a second action against the patroon, but before 
any decision was reached Johan van Rensselaer died and further 
proceedings were abandoned. 

Van Slichtenhorst now turned his attention to the completion 
of an historical work, entitled: Hoe en wanneer Gelderlandt tot 
eene voogdhye is afgesondert, 878—1666, which is ascribed to 
his son Arend. In 1 664, he became feeble minded and was no 
longer able to take care of his affairs. As his daughter had a 
large family and his 'condition made quieter surroundings neces- 
sary, he was placed in the home of Evert Elberts, a carpenter 
at Nykerck, where two years later, on or just before September 
26, 1 666, he died at the advanced age of 78 years. 

Van Slichtenhorst is one of the few New Netherland officials 
of whose complete career we have any detailed knowledge. Mr 
Beernink sums up his character by stating that he was " a man 
of many-sided knowledge and great ability, of recognized 

^A translation of this account is given in the Appendix. April 4, 
1652, the directors of the Dutch West India Company wrote to Stuyve- 
sant: "From what we can learn here, the owners of the Colony of 
Rensselaer swyck have here come to an agreement and will probably send 
over another manager, but we doubt, whether they will easily get rid 
of Slechtenhorst, for it is said here, that he demands from the owners 
14000 to 15000 guilders; we know not, how true it may be." Doc. 
rel to Col. Hisi. A^. y.. 14:171. 



Court Minutes, 1648-1652 21 

integrity and proved fidelity, of rare courage and unfailing per- 
severance, which at times amounted to obstinacy; an untiring 
champion for the rights of others and of himself."^ The present 
minutes of the court presided over by Van Slichtenhorst contain 
many personal touches which testify to his ability and devotion 
to duty, but the general impression left by these minutes is that 
he was a man of aggressive temperament and arbitrary and 
unyielding disposition, who frequently came into needless con- 
flict with his associates and the colonists. 

One point in connection with Van Slichtenhorst's administra- 
tion on which much emphasis has been laid by Mr Beernink is 
worthy of special notice. On the strength of a statement made 
by Van Slichtenhorst in the course of his litigation with Johan 
van Rensselaer, that on his arrival in the colony there were but 
three houses standing near the fort, that by August 1648 eight 
houses had been built, and that at the end of his administration, 
in April 1652, there was a settlement of about one hundred 
houses, Mr Beernink calls him " the founder of Albany." ^ This 
title needs qualification, for it is well known that in 1646 and 
1 647 severe freshets had carried away a number of houses in the 
colony, so that the sudden building activity during Van Slichten- 
horst's administration may mean nothing more than that people 
were replacing the buildings that had been lost. On the other 
hand, there are various indications that before 1648 the main 
settlement of the colony was, not on the west, but on the east 
side of the Hudson river, in the so-called Creenenbosch, after- 
wards corrupted to Greenbush, a pine grove opposite the ferry. 
It is possible, therefore, that at Van Slichtenhorst's initiative this 
settlement was, either for greater security, or for other reasons, 
gradually removed to the vicinity of Fort Orange, in which case 
there would be considerable justification for regarding him as the 



^ Beernink, p. 260. 

2 Beernink, p. 175. 202, 204. 

^ See Van Rensselaer Borvier Mss, p. 454, 619, Also Van Curler's 
letter to th& patroon, June 16, 1643, in O'Callaghan, History of New 
Netherland, 1 :459, 462 464. 



22 Colony of Renss€laers7i>ycJi 

real founder of the city of Albany. It is interesting in this con- 
nection to read what Father Isaac Jogues, in his Novum Bel- 
gium, has to say about the colony. Writing in 1646, but de- 
scribing conditions as he found them in 1643, he says: 

" There are two things in this settlement (which is called Renselaers- 
wick, as if to say, settlement of Renselaers, who is a rich Amsterdam 
merchant) — first, a miserable little fort called Fort Orenge, built of 
logs, with four or five pieces of Breteuil cannon, and as many pedereros. 
This has been reserved and is maintained by the West India Company. 
This fort was formerly on an island in the river; it is now on the 
mainland, towards the Hiroquois, a little above the said island. 

Secondly, a colony sent here by this Renselaers, who is the patron. 
This colony is composed of about a hundred persons, who reside in some 
twenty-five or thirty houses built along the river, as each found most 
convenient. In the principal house lives the patron's agent; the minister 
has his apart, in which service is performed. There is also a kind of 
bailiff here, whom they call the seneschal, who administers justice. All 
their houses are merely of boards and thatched, with no mason work 
except the chimneys. The forest furnishing many large pines, they make 
boards by means of their mills, which they have here for the purpose." ^ 

While Father Jogues does not specify whether the houses 
stood on the east or on the west side of the river, it is evident from 
his description that in 1643 there was no compact settlement 
around Fort Orange. It would seem therefore that what Van 
Slichtenhorst actually did, was to have the separate dwellings 
that stood on both banks of the river removed to the vicinity of 
the fort. Such a concentration of the settlement, for the greater 
security of the inhabitants, similar to that which ten years later, 
at Stuyv^sant's suggestion, was carried out at Wiltwyck,^ would 
satisfactorily explain the peculiar usage of the term byeenrvo- 
n'mge, literally, " a dwelling together," by which the hamlet is 
repeatedly designated in the court minutes. Mr Beernink con- 
siders the employment of this term in the sense of a village so 
remarkable, that he cites it as a distinct proper name, which was 



^J. F. Jameson, Narratives of New Netherland, p. 261-62. 

"See Resolution of the inhabitants of Esopus, May 31, 1658, at the 
beginning of " The Dutch Records of Kingston," revised translation by 
Samuel Oppenheim, in vol. XI of the Proceedings of the New York State 
Historical Association. 



Court Minutes, 1648-1652 23 

given to the settlement by Van Slichtenhorst, but which hereto- 
fore has been overlooked/ This, however, does not seem to be 
the case, for the name never became current outside of the locality 
and is not mentioned in the declaration made by the directors of 
the Dutch West India Company in 1674, in which they speak 
of " the hamlet, first called de Fu^ck, afterwards Beversrp})ck, 
and now IVillemstadt, whereabouts Fort Orange is built." ^ 
The use, moreover, in Arend van Slichtenhorst's defense of his 
father before the district court of the Veluwe, of such a phrase 
as eene B^^eenwoeningh van omtrent honderd hu^sen (a settle- 
ment of about one hundred houses) , cited by Mr Beernink,^ suf- 
ficiently proves that the word b^eenivoninge was employed as a 
common noun. 

As shown in the preceding pages, the minutes of the court pre- 
sided over by Van Slichtenhorst form the only record of the 
court of the colony of Rensselaerswyck that has been preserved. 
The record breaks off on April 15, 1652, the very date on which 
the first session was held of the newly created court of Fort 
Orange and the village of Beverwyck. The present record, 
therefore, connects directly with the first book of minutes of the 
last named court, of which a translation has recently been pub- 
lished by The University of the State of New York. 

The record, in its original form, was a paper covered volume 
of 114 leaves, which on the front cover bore the title of 
" Gerechtsrolle der Colonic Rensselaerswyck." It is repeatedly 
cited under this title in the second volume of O'Callaghan's His- 
tory of New Netherland and has been used extensively in the 
compilation of the list of settlers of the colony which is printed 
at the end of the Van Rensselaer Boxeier Manuscripts, but the 
complete text of the record has heretofore not been available in 
print. 



1 Beernink, p. 1 39. 202. 204. 

'Doc. rel. to Col. Hisl. N. Y., 2:558. 

'Beernink, p. 208, 253. 



24 Colon]) of RensselaersTijy^ck 

The record belongs to the archives of the colony which, 
together with the later records of the manor of Rensselaerswyck, 
were for many years kept in the patroon's office, a one-story 
brick building with a fireproof vault, which until recently stood 
near the south west corner of Broadway and Tivoli street, in 
the northern part of the city of Albany. It was with these rec- 
ords, in 1 899, removed to the Albany county clerk's office ^ and 
from there, in 1906, as part of the same collection of records, 
transferred to the New York State Library. There, less than 
5 years later, it was severely damaged in the fire which on 
March 29, 1911, broke out in the western portion of the State 
Capitol and in a few hours destroyed not only the general con- 
tents of the Library but also many valuable records, including 
the greater part of the Rensselaerswyck manuscripts. 

As shown by the illustrations, the lower part of the record is 
completely charred, the portion containing the last two or three 
lines of every page being severed from the rest of the manuscript 
and in some cases lost. Wherever possible, the writing on these, 
charred fragments has been carefully deciphered, so that the text 
as here presented is to a large extent complete. 

The main body of the record is in the handwriting of Anthony 
de Hooges, who throughout the period of Van Slichtenhorst's 
administration and until his own death, in 1655, held the office 
of secretary. Here and there, however, pages occur in another 
hand, which is probably that of Gerrit van Wenckum, Van 
Slichterthorst's nephew, who according to the account printed in 
the appendix did considerable copying. Throughout the record 
there are many additional entries and marginal annotations by 
Van Slichtenhorst. In the translation no systematic effort has 
been made to indicate these changes of handwriting, which as a 
rule are without special significance. 

November 20, 1 922 

A. J. F. VAN Laer 

^ See chapter 268, Laws of 1896, and chapter 471, Laws of 1899, 
making provision for the safe keeping of the "Van Rensselaer papers" 
in the Albany county clerk's office. 



COURT MINUTES OF RENSSELAERSWYCK 

1648-1652 

[ 1 ] In the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ 
we begin this court record/ 

This day, Thursday, April 2 Anno 1648 

Hendrick Westerkamp is granted permission and consent to 
support himself in the colony by day-labor or otherwise. He 
may therefore select a place, whereupon we shall resolve further. 

Jacob Adriaensz is ordered to serve out his term with Evert 
Pels for the space of one year and to report to Evert Pels within 
four days from this date, under penalty of forfeiting, the first 
time four guilders, for remaining in default another four days 
eight guilders, and the third time sixteen guilders; and of receiv- 
ing arbitrary punishment the fourth time. 

Jacob Lambertsz van Dorlandt having committed a crime in 
wounding Paulus Jansz, Noorman, and the court having heard 
the director's complaint in the matter, the delinquent is con- 
demned to pay the director a fine of twenty-five guilders, with 
costs, [the parties] being warned hereafter to keep the peace, 
[under penalty of] condemnation. 

[Iv] ^ Thursday, April 9 Anno 1648 

Whereas we observe the great rashness of Jacob Adriaensz 
in entering into another man's service, having been, namely, 
as appears from the foregoing judgment, first with Evert Pels 
and being now with Cornelis Segersz, which is a matter that is 
not to be tolerated, therefore, leaving the foregoing judgment 



^ Inden Name omes Heeren ende He^landls Jesu Christi aenvangen iPjj 
desen Gerecht Rolle. Figures within brackets represent the pages of the 
original manuscript. Elsewhere, brackets indicate material supplied by 
the editor. 

^ 1 V means first folio verso or reverse. 

[25] 



26 Colon}) of RensselaersTv^ck 

unabated, we order that Jacob aforesaid for his rashness and in 
reparation of the loss which CorneHs may suffer thereby shall 
pay to Cornelis Segersz, inclusive of the earnest money and pre- 
vious expenses, the sum of twenty-^five guilders. 

[2] Court proceedings, April 16 Anno 1648 

At the director's demand, Quiryn Cornelisz is ordered for the 
last time to present before TTiursday next, without further delay, 
further proof of his account and an accurate statement about the 
farm, both as to receipts and expenditures, on pain, in case he 
remains in default, of being placed in confinement and kept on 
bread and water until he shall produce further proof, and fur- 
thermore of arbitrary punishment at the discretion of the court. 

Whereas the time allowed to Jacob Adriaensz expired two 
days ago and we find that as yet he has not reported to Evert 
Pels, it is ordered, as it is ordered by us hereby, that the honor- 
able director and the court messenger shall this coming Saturday 
take him to his place of destination and, in case of opposition to 
this our order, he shall de facto be taken into custody and be 
put on bread and water. 

Cornelis Theunisz from Breuckelen is ordered to bring in and 
settle his account on Wednesday next, when [ ] 

him [ ] forfeiture [ ].^ 

[2v] Apostil on the petition of Nicolaes Coorn 

First, as to the capacity in which he serves the honorable court, 
he is Lieutenant Officer.^ As to his salary, the honorable court, 
subject to ratification by the honorable guardians,^ according to 
instructions, have granted him one pound Flemish in addition to 
his former pay for service and board, that is to say, thirty-six 
guilders a month. 



^ Manuscript destroyed. 

^ Offic'ier Lu})tenant, meaning deputy sheriff. 

^ Johan van Wely and Wouter van Twiller, the guardians of the young 
patroon, Johannes van Rensselaer, the minor son of Kiliaen van Rensselaer, 
deceased, then in Holland. 



Court Minutes, 1648-1652 27 

Secondly, as to the name of Siads Herberg (City Tavern), 
permission to use the same is granted him, as well as permission 
to build according to his request at the place to be assigned to 
him, provided that he enter into a proper contract for that pur- 
pose. But the court can not resolve to grant him the exclusive 
right to tap. 

The court confirms and renews the sentence pronounced on 
August 28, 1 647, upon Willem Jeuriaensz ^ on account of the 
assault committed against the person of Antony de Hooges. The 
honorable director, therefore, is requested and directed to execute 
and carry out the same in all its parts and provisions. 

[3] Thursday. April 23 Anno 1648 

At thfe request of Cornelis Teunisz for an extension of time to 
render his account, permission is granted him for the last time, 
without prejudice to our previous order, to render his account on 
Tuesday next, without fail, on pain of forfeiture of one pound 
Flemish, or six guilders. 

Quiryn Cornelisz remaining in default as regards the previous 
order, peremptory order is hereby given that he be found and 
made to execute the same, according to circumstances. 

The matter of Jacob Jansz Flodder, in regard to the contract 
of the new mill and the two stallions, is put over to next Thurs- 
day. As to the payment for the kill, two of us will be appointed 
to sign and give a receipt. 

Extraordinary session, April 25 Anno 1648 

After Quiryn Cornelisz according to the previous judgment 
had been placed in confinement, it was at Hans Vos's urgent 
request agreed to hold his bail and suretyship valid, on condition 
of binding himself as principal for the [appearance] of the per- 
son of [Quiryn Cornelisz] on Monday [week], being the 4th 

^Willem Jeuriaensz was sentenced in 1644 and again in 1647 for hav- 
ing attempted to stab de Hooges with a knife. See p. [58—60] of this 
record and O'Callaghan, History of Neiv Netherland, I :437-38. 



28 Colony of Rensselaersivy^cJi 

of May of the year above written and for his proceeding with 
the case [ ] whereupon [said Quiryn 

Cornelisz was released from] confinement. 

[3v] Thursday, April 30 Anno 1648 

Upon the petition of Jan Verbeeck and Jan Michielsz the fol- 
lowing serves for apostil: Their request is granted, namely, 
they may both, with a helper, to the exclusion of all others, take 
up the tailor's trade, binding themselves by contract for the 
accommodation of the colony, provided that neither of them 
shall be entitled to receive more than 36 stivers for a day's work 
and the helper 30 stivers. But as to the request that no one 
shall be allowed to take any work into the fort,^ we can not 
approve of this for reasons us thereunto moving. 

Cornelis Segersz is ordered to pay Reyer Stoffelsz, according 
to the assignment by Adriaen vander Donck, the sum of 49 
guilders within the space of six weeks, in default whereof the 
said sum will be demanded of him by legal process. But if he 
can prove within the aforesaid time that he does not owe Vander 
Donck anything, this assignment will be of no value. On the 
other hand, from this date until the next Reyer Stoffelsz is 
debarred from exacting the first payment due to him. 

Jan Van Bremen " is condemned to pay the fine for [strik- 
ing?] Hans Vos in [ ] wheat. 



^ Meaning that the colonists of Rensselaerswyck should be prohibited 
from employing a tailor in Fort Orange outside of the jurisdiction of the 
colony. 

^ According to G. Beernink, De Ceschiedschrijver en Rechtsgeleerde 
Dr. Arend van Slichtenhorst en zijn vader Brant van Slichtenhorst, p. 
1 70, Jan Dircksz van Bremen came, not come from the city of Bremen, 
in Germany, as theretofore supposed, but from Amersfoort, in the 
province of Utrecht, van Bremen being the family name. It is possible, 
however, that Mr. Beernink confuses him with Jan Dircksz, English- 
man, mentioned in these minutes under date of November 19, 1648, who 
is given in the accounts of the colony as from Amersfoort. In Resolutions 
of Brazil (W. I. Co. Oude Co., No. 68, Rijksarchief, The Hague), 
under date of Sept. 24, 1637, appears the following entry: "Jan 
Dircksz van Bremen, Constabel (gunner), who came into the country 
on the ship Craeff Ernestus, fl. 64:—." 



Court Minutes, 1 648-1 652 29 

[4] Evert Noldingh ^ is at his request granted permission to 
support himself by teaching school and to have a lot laid out 
for him. 

It is ordered that Willem Jeuriaensz must render his account 
next Saturday, before noon, notice of which will be served on 
him by the court messenger. 

Cornelis Theunisz from Breuckelen is once more ordered and 
commanded to render his account next Tuesday, on pain of for- 
feiting twenty-five guilders. 

Thursday, May 7 Anno 1 648 

The honorable director, plaintiff, against Hans Jansz from 
Rotterdam, for having beaten an Indian. First default. 

The honorable director, plaintiff, against Jan van Bremen, 
for mischief done at night before and on the door of Jacob Jansz 
Stol. 

[4v] May 11, 1648 

Hans Vos attaches fl. 120 in the hands of Nikolaes Koorn 
and fl. . . . in the hands of Cornelis Segersz, on account 
of the debt alleged to be due by Adriaen vander Donck. 

Thursday, May 28, 1648 

Quiryn Cornelisz is ordered to complete his term of service 
with Evert Pels during the planting, according to his agreement, 
under penalty of forfeiting fl.25. 

Upon the verbal request of Nicolaes Koorn, made here before 
the court, that he may receive and be paid certain private debts 
due him by some of the patroon's farm hands and others, the 
honorable gentlemen of the court have resolved and ordered, as 
they do hereby, that Nicolaes Koorn shall render to the director, 
commissioners and councilors {Gecommitteerden ende Raeden) 



^ He was a tailor by trade and apparently a private master. See 
note under entry of November 23, 1650, and Minutes of the Court 
of Fort Orange and Bevern>})ck, 1 :43, 44, 200, 238. 



30 Colon}) of Rensselaersrv^cJ( 

of this colony a statement of the goods which he received from 
the late honorable patroon, according to liis invoices, and render 
a proper account of everything for our inspection and careful 
examination and, furthermore, that he shall act in accordance 
with the order to be issued by us on Tuesday next, being the 
2d of June of the year 1 648. 

[5] April 26, anno 1648, Director Slichtenhorst protested 
against a certain writing of the Honorable General P. Stuyve- 
sant, about the proclamation of a day of fasting and prayer, 
whereby he is considered to have infringed the right and 
authority of the honorable patroon. This writing was delivered 
just before the commencement of divine service, so that [the 
court] had no time to read it. 

[6v] ^ Court proceedings, June 1 Anno 1648 

Pieter Cornelisz and Harmen Bastiaensz are provisionally 
referred to arbitrators. 

The honorable director, plaintiff, against Thomas Chamber, 
Jacob Jansz, farmer on the Vlacte,^ and Claes Teunisz Uylen- 
spiegel. First default. 

Court proceedings, July 2 Anno 1648 

Jacob Jansz, farmer on the Vlackte, says that he heard Jan 
Thomasz say first that Claes Tyssen was an informer. He is 
given eight days in which to clear himself of the charge that he 
too said so and is therefore ordered to appear at the expiration of 
that time. 

Claes Teunisz denies that he called Claes Tysschen an 
informer. It may be true, he says, but [he knows no] more 
about it than that others said so. 

Is granted time and citied to appear. 



^ Folios 5v and 6 are blank. 

^ Jacob Jansz from Stoutenburch. The farms was later known as 
the Schuyler Flatts. 



Court Minutes, 1648-1652 31 

[7] Thomas Chamber being asked Whether on the 4th of 
June of this year he was not with some other persons on the 
Vlackte, answers that he will say neither no nor yes and that 
none of those sitting on the bench can prove to him that he called 
Claes Tyssen an informer. He says that he will not take an 
oath in his own case. Is granted a delay and cited like the fore- 
going persons. 

Hans Vos is ordered to complete his term of service and to 
serve six days in addition for time lost by him. 

Thursday, July 16 Anno 1648 

Hie honorable director, plaintiff, against Harmen Bastiaensz, 
defendant, and Gerrit Jansz, cooper, and Evert Noldingh. 

Having seen the written contract between Jan Thomasz and 
Thomas Chamber about the building of the house of the said 
Jan Thomasz, whereby Thomas Chamber binds himself to make 
said house tight all around by the end of April of this year, and 
finding that the time is passing by, Thomas Chamber is ordered 
to start the work next Monday, but without [ ] 

[ ] fine of 50 stivers [ ] for lost 

time. 

[7v] [The court] having at the request of the Honorable 
Director Slichtenhorst heard the urgent and insistent demand 
made by Marten Hendricksz for payment of his lawful account 
and finding that the goods or the value thereof are in the hands 
of Teunis Cornelisz, as shown by his debit account, it is resolved 
that Teunis shall likewise by legal process be forced to make 
payment within the space of 1 4 days from this date. In case of 
failure to pay within eight days after the appointed time, he 
shall forfeit three guilders; [for failure to pay] within three days 
after the last mentioned date he shall incur the double fine; and 
thereafter he shall be dealt with according to law as the circum- 
stances may require. 

Marten Hendricksz is ordered to satisfy and pay Willem 
Fredericksz what is due according to their mutual account within 
the space of one month from this date. 



32 Colony of Rensselaerstv^ck 

Whereas Domine Megapolensis has recently suffered great 
loss through theft and requests to have the houses in the Greenen 
Bos searched/ without casting any reflection on the honest and 
the innocent, his Reverence's request is granted, with the under- 
standing that no offense in the least shall be given to honest per- 
sons. In case of refusal, people [shall be dealt with] according 
to law. 

[8] Court proceedings, July 23 Anno 1648 

Cornelis Theunisz from Breuckelen and Evert Pels are 
ordered to settle their accounts within eight days and then to 
consider and determine together who is to satisfy Claes Tyssen. 
Cornelis Theunisz appeals [from the decision]. 

Adriaen vander Donck undertakes at the very first oppor- 
tunity to collect as far as possible for Hans Vos at the Man- 
hatans the forty-seven guilders which are due to Hans Vos from 
Simon Waelingen, according to his order, the previous attach- 
ments heretofore levied by Hans Vos against Corn : Segersz, N : 
Coorn and others being hereby vacated and declared void. 

Extraordinary session, September 9, 1 648 

It is resolved that Cornelis Jansz shall receive the gun inven- 
toried [among the effects] of the farm heretofore used by 
Quiryn, in consideration of the purchase under contract. 

[8v] Court proceedings, October 8, 1648 

Claes Gerritsz confesses that he wounded Jan, the smith, with a 
plow staff, drawing blood. 

Whereupon the honorable director draws a complaint, 
demanding the imposition of a fine of three hundred guilders. 

Cornelis Segersz being cited on account of some derogatory 
remarks which he is alleged to have made in the tavern about 



^ Megapolensis resided on the east side of the Hudson river, in what 
was known as the Greenen Bosch, or pine grove, afterwards corrupted to 
Greenbush. See Van Curler's letter to the patroon, June 16, 1643, in 
E. B. O'Callaghan, Histor}) of New Netherland, 1 :459. 



Court Minutes, 1 648-1 652 33 

the person of Andries de Vos in his capacity as magistrate (ge- 
rechis persoon), the defendant declares that he has nothing to 
say about the person of Andries de Vos as regards his office and 
special duty and conduct but what redounds to his honor and 
virtue, declaring that he conducts himself as an honest man is 
bound to do. 

This he has declared here before the court. 

A. DE HoOGES, Secretary. 

The honorable director, plaintiff, against Cornelis van Es and 
his wife, separately, Pieter Claesz and Evert • Pels. First 
default. 

The order of [July] 23 of this year as to the question between 
Cornelis Teunisz and Evert Pels is renewed and they are once 
more ordered to settle their mutual accounts within eight days 
after date, to wit, as far as Claes Tyssen is concerned, under 
penalty of forfeiting six guilders each, and [so] from eight days 
to eight days. 

[9] Evert Pels is cited: 

1 To pay the wages earned by Claes Tyssen 

2 To pay for one half of the pease that were mowed and for 

the great damage and loss of time [suffered by Claes 
Tyssen] as the result of the beating 

3 To pay the fine for beating Claes [Tyssen] 

4 On account of his wife's abusive language to the honorable 

director, when he served the complaint. 

Upon the petition of Michiel Jansz, praying that he may 
receive a final settlement of accounts, the following serves for 
apostil : That he is to have his account of everything including 
the trade, ready by next Saturday, or, in case his journey should 
thereby by delayed, sooner, in order that, [the court] securing 
thorough evidence of everything, a final settlement may be 
reached and agreed upon. 



34 Colon]) of RensselaersTV\)ck 

Extraordinary session, October 1 0, 1 648 

Michiel Jansz is arrested and ordered under penalty of the 
lord's highest fine to make out and render his yearly account, in 
debita forma, as head farmer and lessee, from the year 1638 to 
the year 1646, inclusive, as well as of the trade and the horses 
delivered to him, for which he must furnish two sufficient sure- 
ties. [ ] appraisal [ ] which he 
received [ ] buildings [ ] 
At tlie same time, Monday next, being the 12th of this month, 
is appointed as the court day [on which answer is to be made], 

[9v] Extraordinary session, October 12, 1648 

Michiel Jansz, having been arrested about disputed accounts 
and having appointed Teunis Dircksz and Jan Louwrensz as 
sureties for the satisfaction of the judgment, they accept the 
suretyship, offering themselves as sureties for the principal and 
Jan Louwrensz submitting himself to the court here. 

Acknowledged before me, 

A. DE HooGES, Secretary 

Extraordinary session, October 13, 1648 

Michiel Jansz being again arrested for having in time of war 
sold contraband munitions of war to the Indians and, secondly, 
for having sent his servant with about 50 beavers to the house 
De Hoop,^ without paying any recognition on them, Michiel 
Jansz before the court binds his person and property as security 
for the satisfaction of the judgment, submitting himself to the 
court here, the next court day being set for the trial. 



^ Fort Hope, on the GDnnecticut river. 



Court Minutes, 1648-1652 35 

Court proceedings, October 15 Anno 1648 

The case between Willem Jeuriaensz and the widow of 
Mattys Jansz, the court being incomplete, is put over to' the next 
court day. 

Evert Pels, for having beaten Claes Tyssen, offers to pay the 
fine provided [by law]. 

Claes Tyssen declares here before the court and Broer Cor- 
nelis ^ that Evert Pels, having with him Cornelis Teunisz, called 
him a rascal and a thief. 

Evert Pels, appearing on account [ ] 

[ ] offers now [ ] 

[ ] but remains [ ] 

October 15, [\0] Comclis Quiryncn is arrested at the request 

arrest made r r~^ ^' r" • i i i i r 

for Cornelis ^^ L-omclis Van EL.S, With Order not to depart berore 
van Es he has paid or furnished sufficient sureties for the pay- 

ment of the note signed by him on account of Roeloff 
Cornelisz. 

Likewise, all that is due to Quiryn Cornelis and Cornelis 
Quirynen from Broer Cornelis is attached in the hands of the 
said Broer Cornelis, 

Ext: Permission is granted to Evert Jansz, tailor, residing on 
the island of Manhatans, to transport himself hither and to sup- 
port himself here by exercising his trade, provided that he build 
at his own expense, for which a place will be indicated to him. 

August 3, 1648, Jan Barentsz Poest caused Cornelis Segersz 
to be asked in court by the director whether he, Cornelis Segersz, 
stood by the words which he on the first of said month addressed 
to him, Jan, in the presence of Aerndt Andriesz, Pouwels Noor- 
man and the servant of the aforesaid Aernt, accusing him, Jan, 
of being a rascal and a [thief?] and the greatest liar at present 



Cornelis Teunisz from Breuckelen. 



36 Colony of Remselaersivy)c}( 

in the colony, which aforesaid accusations CorneHs Segeresz even 
at the time of the examination promised to prove by several wit- 
nesses, but afterwards before the said director was obliged to 
take back, stating that he knew naught of the said Jan but what 
was honorable and good. 

Which I certify, 

B. V. SlICHTENHORST, Director. 

[lOv] The honorable director, Brandt van Slichtenhorst, 
plaintiff, against Michiel Jansz, defendant. 

1 In the first place, the defendant must give security for the 
satisfaction of the judgment and choose his domicile where notice 
or legal summons may be served in his absence. 

2 Michiel Jansz is asked whether he was not engaged upon 
the same [terms as those of the] contract which Gerrit de Reus 
made with the honorable patroon and whether he did not occupy 
the farm called " de Flooge Berch "^ from the year 1640 to the 
year 1646 upon the same conditions? 

3 [The plaintiff demands] that the defendant, as the 
patroon's farmer, render a true account and statement of the 
grain and crops and of the cattle, butter, milk and hogs for the 
years 1638 and 1639, and this for each year separately, and in 
detail. Also a statement as to what he has done with all the 
property aforesaid and that within a specified time, according to 
his own request of October 8, 1648; if not, the plaintiff places 
his loss on that score at the sum of five hundred guilders, plus 
lawful damages. 

4 [The plaintiff demands] that the defendant in his capacity 
of former lessee of the patroon's farm called " den Hogen 
Berch," from the year 1 640 to the year 1 646, inclusive, render 
an accurate account, for each year separately, of the crops which 
the defendant received,, as well as of the cattle, wagon and plow 



^ Ljterally, the High Hill. The farm was situated on the east side 
of the Hudson river, on the Mill creek. 



Court Minutes, 1648-1652 37 

and further of all the farm implements, household effects, linen, 
woolens, nothing excepted, which were entrusted to him in the 
year 1 640, and of all the grain, cattle, butter and milk produced 
and raised on the aforesaid farm after the year 1640, together 
with a statement as to what he has done with it all, said account to 
be rendered within a specified time; if not, the plaintiff in his 
capacity aforesaid charges for his loss on that account the sum 
of two thousand guilders, plus lawful damages. 

5 That the defendant return to the plaintiff in the, colony thi 
three horses which he took with him out of the colony in the year 
1646, in as good condition as they were at the time, and this 
within a specified time; if not, the plaintiff places his loss on that 
account at [ ] and fifty guilders for lawful damages. 

6 That the defendant within a specified time shall submit an 
accurate inventory of all the household effects, linens, woolens 
and everything else that the defendant and his wife took with 
them out of the colony; otherwise the plaintiff will charge for 
his loss in that respect the sum of 500 guilders plus lawful 
damages. 

[11] 7 That the plaintiff and the defendant within three 
days shall have the house, barn, barrack and further all the 
buildings occupied by him to the year 1646, appraised by 
impartial carpenters, who are also to estimate and appraise in 
what state he left said buildings two years ago; otherwise the 
plaintiff will charge for his loss the sum of 2090 guilders plus 
lawful damages. And in case of refusal, the plaintiff shall have 
the appraisal made by impartial persons at the defendant's 
expense. 

8 That the defendant shall within a specified time render a 
specified and detailed account of the total cost of the patroon's 
house in the way of building, materials and expenses; otherwise 
the plaintiff will charge for his loss on that account fifteen hun- 
dred guilders, plus lawful damages. 

And whereas the defendant at his departure for the Man- 
hatans presented a final account, written with his own hand, as 



38 Colony of RemselaersW^cJf 

he has admitted in court, entitled: "Account of all that is in my 
custody on the farm, belonging to the farm," which showed that 
he still had in common with his patroon the sum of two thousand 
nine hundred and fifty-four guilders, eleven stivers, the honorable 
plaintiff demands that the half of the aforesaid sum be deposited 
with the court, with costs. 

9 That the defendant shall also show how many beavers, otter 
skins, or other peltries he has traded or otherwise received during 
his term, each year separately. Otherwise, the plaintiff will place 
his loss at 1000 guilders, plus lawful damages. 

10 Whereas it is notorious that Michiel Jansz has traded 
many skins, proof is demanded, first of all, that the defendant 
had the right to trade these and, in default of such proof, the 
plaintiff concludes that the defendant, in accordance with his 
contract, has forfeited all his earned wages and all the effects 
which he had here in this country and, furthermore, that he is to 
be arbitrarily punished for having traded those forbidden peltries. 
With costs. 

1 1 Whereas Michiel Jansz on October 1 0, 1 648, was 
arrested by Director Slichtenhorst within the limits of the juris- 
diction of the colony and without furnishing sureties has ventured 
to move into anotlier jurisdiction, so that he has not only [vio- 
lated] the jurisdiction of the court and th€ high and low jurisdic- 
tion of the honorable patroon, but also has [acted in contempt of] 
our aforesaid patroon whose place we here occupy [ ] 

[ ' ] broken the arrest [ ] 

[ ] fine [ ]. 

[llv] Director Brandt van Slechtenhorst, plaintiff, against 
Michiel Jansz, defendant. 

Whereas the defendant has heretofore, at the time of the war 
at the Manhatans, ventured to barter forbidden ammunition with 
the savages against some peltries, at the expense of much 
Christian blood of our Christian neighbors, who are of the same 
religion and subject to the same sovereignty and power, only to 



Court Minutes, 1648-1652 39 

satisfy his vulgar greed, contrary to the placard of the High and 
Mighty Lords the States General and the ordinance of the 
honorable council of New Netherland, the plaintiff concludes 
that the defendant has forfeited his Hfe, or else is liable to such 
arbitrary punishment and heavy fine as the honorble court shall 
consider fit to impose, and [demands that] in addition he be 
condemned to pay fifty guilders [to the director] by way of a 
fee or fine, according to the aforesaid placard and ordinance. 

And whereas the defendant, or person arrested in the year 
1644, ventured to send his servants out of the colony with an 
order in his own handwriting and about 50 beavers, without pay- 
ing any recognition for them either at Fort Orange or at the 
Manhatans, and whereas these servants having come to the 
assistant in Fort De Hoop,^ sold said beavers to the English who 
were stationed at the trading house of Mr Wytingh, contrary to 
the express order of the aforesaid placard, the honorable plain- 
tiff concludes that the aforesaid beavers or the value thereof are 
subject to confiscation and [demands] that in addition he be 
condemned to pay a fine of fifty guilders and also be arbitrarily 
punished as an example to others, according to the aforesaid 
ordinance. Cum expensis. 

Was signed: [B. v. Slichtenhorst, Director] 
Agrees with the original. 
Which I certify, 

A. DE HOGES, Secretary. 



^ Fort Hope, on the Connecticut river. 



40 Colony of Rensselaer siv^cl^ 

[ 1 2v] ^ Court proceedings, October 22 Anno 1 648 

Jan Verbeeck, upon sufficient security, is granted permission to 
pay his debt to the honorable patroon in five instalments, namely, 
fl. 150 a year, and the fifth payment to discharge the entire debt, 
provided that if he builds on the west shore, he shall the first year 
be free from paying rent. 

Jacon Jansz Stol 1st default 

Goosen Gerritsz 2d default 

Pieter Hertgers 1st default 

Corn: van Es 1st default 

Pieter Claesz 1st default 

The director promises to help the widow of Mattys, deceased,^ 
get the fl. 5o due her, either through Willem Jeuriaensz, or else 
at the very first opportunity. 

Finding that Nicolaes Coorn, has presumed to go to the Man- 
hatans, notwithstanding he was ordered by the court on the 1 9th 
of August of this year to show and deliver to us within 1 4 days 
after that date a more complete account of everything, as many 
things were found to have been omitted and passed over, of which 
we have never seen* any account but which he had nevertheless 
November 15, jj^ ]^jg posscssion, wc therefore once more order 

1649, the notice , . , , ,. i /^ -i • i • • i 

was served and *^"^ ^^^^ INicolaes Coom peremptorily withm eight 

[a copy of the days after the service of the next notice to present 

dlirhaTded to ^^^ deliver the account, under penalty of the 

him. lord's highest fine. 

[13] The honorable court having more than once had the 
person of Goossen Gerritsz urged by the honorable director of 
this colony to allow himself to be employed in the capacity of 
magistrate (gerechtspersoon) , and [said Goossen Gerritsz] now 
appearing, he declares : . 



^ Folio 1 2 recto is blank. 
^Mathijs Jansz. 



Court Minutes, 1648-1652 41 

1 First, that he considers himself incompetent for it, 

2 Secondly, that he owns no house and lot here and there- 

fore is not bound to serve. 

3 Thirdly, as thus far he is not on a free basis with the 

patroon, he can not resolve to accept the office, but as 
soon as that comes about, he will offer the patroon his 
services in everything. 

Which reasons having been duly weighed and considered by 
us, we have deemed, as we still deem, that they are not of such 
weight that this good cause should thereby suffer and Goossen 
Gerritsz be held excusable. 

Therefore, once more and for the last time, we kindly request 
him voluntarily to accept the vacant office ; otherwise, though very 
reluctantly, we shall find ourselves forced to resort to other 
means. 

Goossen Gerritsz accepts the magistrate's office, provided he 
may first make a trip to the Manhatans, which is granted. 

[14]^ Director Slichtenhorst, plaintiff, against Cornelis van 
Es, defendant. 

Whereas on the 1 4th of September 1 648, at the public leasing, 
where Director Slichtenhorst, sitting with the commissioners, oc- 
cupied the place of the honorable patroon, CorneHs Hendricksz 
Van Es three several times, in the presence of the Reverend 
Domine Megapolensis and publicly in the presence of all the 
bystanders, dared to call the director a cheat, charging him with 
having cheated his son-in-law, Peeter Claesz, and stating that 
the director did not keep his word with his son-in-law, [said 
director] brought these slanderous words to the attention of the 
aforesaid gentlemen in the presence of all the bystanders and 
cited him to appear on the first court day and on the 21st of 
September summoned him once more to appear before the afore- 
said court, to be held on the 1 st of October 1 648, And whereas 
Director Slichtenhorst has taken these gross insults much to heart 



^ Folio 1 3 verso blank. 



42 Colony of Rensselaersw^ck 

and would not willingly have suffered them for anything under 
the sun, he being a person of good standing and reputation and 
moreover the director and representative of the honorable patroon 
as proprietor of the colony here, and it being intolerable that a 
subject, by attacking his honor and character, should thus, with- 
out right or reason, several times publicly, unjustly and grossly 
insult his overlord, which constitutes a capital crime; therefore, 
it is requested that he give security for the satisfaction of the 
judgment and his life, and furthermore, that the offender shall 
go or be taken into custody, as the director also offers to do, and 
prosecute the case from day to day, during two terms, on con- 
dition that the costs shall be paid by the party who is in the 
wrong, and furthermore according to law. The director of the 
aforesaid colony demands that Van Es, being the offender, shall 
appear before the full council and declare that he is sorry 
that he uttered the aforesaid slanders and that he knows 
nothing of the aforesaid director but what is consistent with 
honor and virtue. Furthermore, that in addition the offender 
shall be condemned to pay for each time a fine of [ ] , 

said money to be deposited with the court and this to three times 
the amount of the fine provided by the resolution and ordinance 
of May [ ] , 1 648 ; all cum expemis. 

[ 14v] Also, that Van Es be condemned to pay the same fines 
as above because on September 1 4, 1 648, at the public leasing, 
after everybody had been separately called into the room and the 
conditions had been read to them in order to proceed with the 
leasing, according to the day and hour appointed therefor at 
least two weeks in advance, he ventured in collusion with others 
to make trouble in order that the honorable patroon's property 
should not be leased at a proper figure and the day result in 
failure, the said Van Es and his son-in-law, Pieter Claesz, 
together with others, in order to achieve their wicked purpose, 
leaving the room in the presence of the said director, the domine 
and the commissioners. And as this is a matter of great conse- 
quence, the aforesaid director demands that Van Es shall for 
that crime be once more condemned to pay the aforesaid fine of 



Court Minutes, 1648-1652 43 

300 guilders, by virtue of the aforesaid ordinance, and in addition 
be arbitrarily punished as an example to others. Cum expensis. 

The Honorable Director Slichtenhorst, plaintiff, against Pieter 
Claesz, defendant. 

A complaint on account of slander is likewise brought against 
the person of Pieter Claesz, because he has several times, openly 
and before everybody, said to the director: " You must acknowl- 
edge that you are a liar," and in addition accused the director of 
cheating him and not keeping his word, as an honest man should, 
of which proof is demanded. Furthermore, [the director] brings 
the same charges against him as against Van Es and also 
demands that Pieter Claesz shall be condemned to pay three 
times fl. 6, for having at the serving of the summons on September 
21,1 648, three times in the presence of the domine and the afore- 
said director wickedly sworn by God's holy name and blood, 
that he was no Christian and [ ] . Therefore, 

that he shall for each time and as often as three times be con- 
demned to pay a fine of six guilders and in addition be arbitrarily 
punished, according to the aforesaid ordinance of May [ ] , 
Anno [1648], with costs. 

The plaintiff also demands that the defendant as 
security for the satisfaction of the judgment in every 
respect shall be immediately taken into custody and 
in addition [be asked to deposit] two hundred 
guilders. 

[15] Court proceedings, November 19 Anno 1648 

This day, Goossen Gerritsz has taken the oath of fidelity as 
magistrate before Director Slichtenhorst. 

Claes Gerritsz here, before the court, denies and declares 
untrue the statement made by Director Slichtenhorst that he, 
Claes Gerritsz, four years ago, had traded more than one hundred 
beavers on the island of Cornelis Segersz. 

Claes Gerritsz declares here that Arendt van Curler gave him 
permission to trade. 



44 Colon]) of RemselaersTv^cJ^ 

Claes Gerritsz says that Ruth Jacobsz told him that he was at 
hberty to strike Jan Dircksz, Englishman/ if he were obstinate, 

N. B. January 18, Director Slichtenhorst, in my presence, 
served notice on Cornelis Segersz that he, Cornelis, on May 14, 
1648, told Mr Slichtenhorst that Claes Gerritsz four years ago 
dwelt with him and in that year had traded more than one hun- 
dred beavers, which statement of the director the said Cornelis 
did not contradict, but tacitly practically admitted. 

Acknowledged by me, 

A. DE HoOGES, Secretary and witness 

The honorable director, plaintiff, vice Jochem Kettelheym, 
against Jacob Lambertsz, defendant. 

Each party to be condemned to do likewise. 

In the first place, the honorable plaintiff offers all his readily 
available property, amounting to the sum of R. 2500, and to 

deliver therefor fl. 2500 

For so much as is due to him from the Vlackte or 

Corler, about fl. 200 

Cornelis Segersz [ ] 

[ ]elis shall Cornelis [ ] 

[ ] Evert Pels and the [Goyer?] 

[ ] 

[15v] November 26, 1648, Jan Appel filed an answer in 
behalf of Michiel Jansz. 

Director Slichtenhorst, plaintiff, against the wife of Cornelis 
van Es and Van Es, as husband and guardian of his wife. First 
default. 

Whereas the wife of Cornelis van Es on September 1 8, Anno 
1648, greatly slandered Councilor de Vos in his private and 
official capacity, which defamation de Vos called upon the 



^ Given in Van Rensselaer Borvier Mss, p. 818, as from Amersfoort. 
but not otherwise. ♦ 



Court Minutes, 1648-1652 45 

director and the Domine to witness, to wit, that he, de Vos, was 
accused of having said that if he had a seat in the government he 
would make them suffer for the insults which they had heretofore 
offered to him, de Vos, of which proof is demanded, or else, in 
default of proof, the plaintiff, with the director, as joint com- 
plainant, demand that she shall appear before the full council 
and acknowledge that she said, too much and that she is heartily 
sorry, and furthermore, that she shall be condemned to pay a 
fine of six guilders, to be pledged immediately, and in addition 
be arbitrarily punished as an example to others, according to the 
ordmance of May 28, 1648, cum expensis. 

The same, against Cornelis van Es. 

Whereas Cornelis van Es was cited on October 29, 1 648, for 
having out of spite threshed out a quantity of oat straw, which 
in winter is the best fodder, and thrown the straw on the manure 
pile, to the detriment of the next lessee and the patroon's horses 
and cattle, which is a matter of grave consequence, which in a 
land of justice neither can nor ought to be tolerated, the plaintiff 
demands that said van Es be condemned to pay a line of 25 
guilders and to make good the loss of the straw, cum expensis, 
the more so as the said van Es on the 18th of November afore- 
said positively told the director that he would not give the 
patroon's horses any oats, much less hunt them up before the 
winter, when one ought to put them in the stable, as another had 
driven them off and he did not care to claim them, but preferred 
to let them run wild, and also protested that he would not do it, 
for which reason the director on the 19th ditto attached the per- 
son of van Es and all his readily convertible and inconvertible 
property, forbidding him to leave the colony under penalty of 
the lord's highest fine, to prevent all loss and damage as to horses 
and cattle through neglect or mischief on his part, or through 
accident, and also as security for the rent. [The director 
further demands] that he shall vacate the house and barn next 
New Year and shortly render to the director a specified account 



46 Colon}) of Rensselaer swy^cli; 

of everything, including the trade, for each year separately; i 
otherwise the director shall place his loss on that account at the 
sum of [ ] , with lawful damages, cum expensis. 

[16] Court proceedings, December 3 Anno 1648 

Whereas Jacob Lambertsz has heretofore accused the person 
of Jochem Kuttelheym of being an informer and we, for reasons 
us thereunto moving, consider it best that the matter do not go 
further, therefore, Jacob Lambertsz aforesaid declares here 
before the court that he knows nothing about the person of 
Jochem Kettelheym but what is honorable and virtuous, Jochem, 
on having this acknowledgment recorded, declaring the same of 
Jacob Lambertsz, without prejudice to the action of the honor- 
able plaintiff. Cum expensis. 

Jacob Lambersen 

This is the X mark of JoCHEM Kettelheym, 
made with his own hand 

In case any one upon sufficient evidence is found guilty of 
injuring the honor of Jochem Kettelheym, calling him an 
informer, he will be fined ten guilders, without prejudice to the 
director's further demand according to the circumstances of the 
case. 

Pieter Claesz declares as many as three times here before the 
court that he is sorry that he swore, the [director retaining his 
action against him according to the] ordinance. Cum expensis. 

[16v] December 1648 

Claes Uyllespiegel summoned twice and fined once on account 
of over-driving the horses, first on December 1 , and on the 
[10th] of December notified for the second time that he was 
fined and in case he had any objection to make, to come to the ] 
court a week from next Thursday, being the I 7th of December. 



Court Minutes, 1 648-/ 652 47 

December 1648 Claes Uyllespiegel cited twice and fined once 

on account of driving the horses, first on the 
1st of December, and on the tenth of Decem- 
ber for the second time, being notified that he 
was condemned and in case he had any objec- 
tion, that he must appear in court on Thursday 
week, being the 1 7th of this month. 

1 2 Evert Pels summoned on account of wounding 
Tomes Jansz. Also because he, or his servant, 
took another man's cow without his consent. 
Also on account of beating Claes Tyssen. 
Also on account of his delivered grain which 
he received from Broer Cornelis for his labor 
and which was delivered to Evert Pels, as he. 
Pels, admitted on the aforesaid date. 

Said Pels was summoned also on account of 
wages earned by Claes Tyssen and on account 
of the damage of the pease. Finally, E. Pels 
was summoned also on account of the abusive 
language used by his wife in addressing the 
director, for all of which together he must 
make answer on Thursday next, being the 
1 7th of this month. 

13 Peter^ is cited by Hans Vos to fulfil his [con- 
tract of] service. 

I 7 Symon Joesten is summoned and called upon, 
on pain of being fined the maximum amount, 
to give testimony to the truth and has refused 
to make oath in the presence of Mr Hoogens. 
On the 19th ditto Symon Joesten was again 
summoned and admonished once more to make 
a declaration. 



^ Pieter Claesz. 



48 



Colony of Rensselaer sli>}^cl( 



21 Huybert was summoned for the second time, 
[on pain] of 3 guilders, to give testimony to 
the truth. 

December Joshem Kettelheym and Jurien,^ Pels's serv- 

ant, summoned to give testimony to the truth 
upon interrogatories. 

Gisbert, the tavernkeeper,' summoned to give 
testimony. 

Hans in Cluys is summoned to appear in court 
on Thursday next. 
Jacob Lambertsz summoned. 

6 January Jochem Kettelheym [ ] summoned 

to give testimony about Van Nes and the 
beating of Hans Vos. Peter Claesz sum- 
moned to [appear in court] 
[ ] cited to appear on the 

21st [ ]. 

Symon Jansz cited [ ] on pain of 

[ ]. 

[17] The Hon. Director Slechtenhorst, plaintiff, against 
Claes Gerritsz, defendant. 

Having heretofore given sufficient security to satisfy the judg- 
ment, the honorable plaintiff says that the defendant vv^as engaged 
as farmer (bourvJ^necht) by the honorable patroon on the 26th 
of May anno 1640, which he still is on the same terms as the 
former farmers, to wit, Gerrit de Rues, Cornelis Tuenisz, Cor- 
nelis Maesz, Zymon Walichsz and Michiel Jansz, according to 
the contracts of the defendant and the aforesaid persons, which 
contracts specifically mention, and by every one has been agreed 
and sworn to, that they are not to trade in peltries on forfeiture 
of their wages and all their effects, applying all the more to the 
effects of the defendant, who has never had permission, nor even 
asked, so to do. To whicK must be added that no one has been 



^ Juriaen Bestval. 

^ Gysbert Comelisz, from Weesp. 




Minutes of December 3, 1648, probably in the handwriting of Gerrit 

van Wenckum 



Court Minuter, 1648-1652 49 

allowed to sell foi'bidden ammunition to the savages, on pain of 
being punished with death, and in case any one denounces any 
one for having acted contrary thereto, he shall receive a reward 
of fifty guilders. And whereas the honorable plaintiff on the 
28th of September anno 1 648 found in the defendant's posses- 
sion six bars of lead, he is liable to pay the aforesaid fine in 
accordance with the placard of the Lords States [General] and 
the Hon. Chartered West India Company, dated the 31st of 
March anno 1639, and the ordinance of the honorable patroon 
and also of the fort and the colony, dated the 8th of May anno 
164 [5?]. Granting even that the defendant had obtained con- 
sent to trade — which he in no wise had — like Master Abra- 
ham,^ Henrick Albertsz, Reyer Stoffelsz, Sander Leenersz and 
others, who contracted with the honorable patroon to trade, the 
defendant would nevertheless be bound each time to report and 
specify the number of all such peltries and to send them to the 
patroon and to no one else, and in addition be obliged to pay 
one guilder for each beaver as well as one sixth part to the honor- 
able patroon, or his agent, on pain of confiscation of all the 
peltries and furthermore of all the defendant's effects, according 
to the contracts of the aforesaid persons. In addition to all this 
the defendant has been bold enough, contrary to the express order 
and sentence of this court, dated the 23d of June anno 1645, and 
notwithstanding all this, to venture to carry on the trade continu- 
ously on his own authority, without paying any recognition or 
entering any peltries, in spite of the honorable patroon's order to 
contract and the sentence of the court, whereby the defendant 
has committed the highest offense, which in a land of justice 
neither can nor ought to remain unpunished, the defendant having 
violated thereby not only the patroon's high and low jurisdiction, 
but also acted in contempt of [I7v] the court here and in the 
highest degree offended the Lords States [General] , whose place 
we occupy here. The honorable plaintiff, for the reasons afore- 



^ Abraham Staets, surgeon. 



50 Colony of RensselaersJvycf^ 

said, therefore demands that the defendant within forteen days 
shall make an accurate return of all the peltries traded by him, 
specifying the number for each year separately from the year 
1 640 to this date, in default of which the plaintiff shall count the 
loss at ten hundred guilders in addition to legal damages. 
Furthermore, that he shall be condemned to give security for the 
payment of 50 guilders aforesaid and that on account of his 
offense, to wit, that the defendant without consent has traded on 
his own authority, he shall be condemned to pay a fine of 500 
guilders, and that in addition he shall forfeit all his effects and 
be arbitrarily punished as an example to others, cum expemis. 
And all this without prejudice to the plaintiff's further causes of 
action, both on account of the fighting engaged in by the 
defendant and the selling or bartering of forbidden ammunition, 
and on account of the confiscation and having traded contrary to 
the sentence and the ordinance. 

December 1 7, Reyntgen,^ the skipper, and Slichtenhorst have 
attached the wagoner's ' wages in the hands of Evert Pels. 

[18] Extraorc^inary session, December 16 Anno 1648 

The parties, to wit, Willem de Key and TTiomas Chamber, 
as husband and guardian of his wife, in a dispute about two 
ankers of brandy, are ordered to present additional evidence and 
proof 'for our further information. 

Court Proceedings, December 1 7 Anno 1 648 

Director Slichtenhorst, prosecutor and plaintiff, against Claes 
Teunisz and some horse racers (paerden jachters) , for judgment 
according to the petition of the honorable director. 

Whereas those guilty of riding at excessive speed, according 
to the apostil on the petition to that effect, are declared to have 



^ Reynier Thymensz? Cf. Van Rensselaer Borvter Mss, p. 815. 
^ Jacob Aertsz. 



Court Minutes, 1648-1652 51 

forfeited six guilders for each offense, in addition to the damage 
done to the horses, each person, moreover, having been sum- 
moned to appear on this day to defend himself; and whereas 
Claes Uylenspiegel, three several times, yes, even twice on the 
same day, notwithstanding the fine and the prohibition and warn- 
ing by the honorable director and the prohibition of their honors' 
ordinance, out of pure mischief and in spite of the court, has 
presumed to ride past the director's door as fast as the horse could 
run, he, Claes, always having the lead over the others, whereby 
he has not only violated [the authority of] the honorable patroon 
in his high and low jurisdiction and [that of] the court here^ 
but also [that of] the Lords States General whose places we 
occupy and committed the highest crime [against them] ; there- 
fore, the honorable plaintiff demands that the aforesaid Claes 
shall be publicly exposed in the pillory and be banished from the 
colony, in accordance with the custom of the fatherland, where 
those who disobey and disregard the lord's prohibition and ban- 
ishment are punished with death; or that the same shall be 
apprehended and for the first offense be [confined] for four 
days, for [the second offense eight days], and for the third 
offense sixteen [days, and in addition] [18v] be exposed and 
banished as above written, as an example to others ; cum expensis. 
And that all the others, for the damage and abuse of the horses, 
in addition to a fine of one pound Flemish, shall for each offense 
pay three guilders to the poor and furthermore be arbitrarily 
punished; cum expensis. 

N. B. Their honors will please do their duty, in order that 
the dumb animals may not again do justice themselves and put 
the court to shame, as has happened before. 

Hans Vos, being summoned to appear by Pieter de Boer on 
account of his contract of service for four months, which he here 
admits and promises to fulfil, is ordered to fulfil the same and to 
satisfy Pieter, on pain of paying the fine imposed heretofore on 
Jacob Aertsz, Tvaegenaer (wagoner), in case he remains in 
default. 



52 Colony of Rensselaerswy^cJf 

The honorable director, plaintiff, against Evert Pels, defend- 
ant, for having wounded Thomas Jansz in the head with a piece 
of wood and drawing blood. Demands condemnation according 
to the ordinance of the Hon. Chartered West India Company 
at the Manhatans, or of Amsterdam, and as Evert Pels had his 
servant get the canoe of Thomas Jansz without his knowledge 
or consent, the plaintiff maintains that Evert Pels has forfeited 
the sum of 25 guilders according to the former ordinance, all 
cum expensis. 

The same, against the wife of Evert Pels. 

Whereas she slandered the honorable director and the other 
members of the court in general, the honorable plaintiff concludes 
that she is liable to a fine of 300 guilders in accordance with the 
ordinance, and demands that she be fined five times six guilders, 
cum expensis. 

[19] Evert Pels is ordered to pay and satisfy the 26 guilders 
which he owes Claes Tyssen, in money or goods, as stipulated, 
cum expensis, saving his claim against Cornelis Teunisz. 

The honorable court, having considered the wilful violation 
of our former ordinance by those who ride their horses at a reck- 
less speed, hereby condemn each offender for each violation to 
pay the stipulated fine. But as to Claes Teunisz called Uylen- 
spiegel, observing the mischief and recklessness committed by 
him in spite of the express prohibition [of such riding], he is 
hereby, 'on pain of corporal punishment, warned not to disregard 
the words, admonition and prohibition of the honorable director, 
especially [when acting] against the ordinances and orders of 
the honorable court. This time, therefore, by way of mitigation 
of sentence, only a fine, as above, is imposed upon him. 

The honorable court, for reasons them thereunto moving, have 
granted Claes Gerritsz time until one month from this date to 
settle his account, on condition that he shall forfeit one pound 
Flemish for each week that he remains in default after the afore- 
said time and of giving security for the satisfaction of the 
judgment. 



1. .1 .1- iii.iiMiijmi I , 




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Last part of minutes of December 17, 1648, in handwriting of Anthony 
de Hooges. Below, bond of Pieter Hartgers for the return of a horse, 
in handwriting of Brant van Slichtenhorst 



4"- 



'W 



Court Minutes, 1648-1652 53 

28 January 1649 Having sceii the honorable director's corn- 

Copy of sentence plaint against Claes Gerritsz for beating [Jan 
[Tan Dircksz] Dlrcksz] , which Clacs Gerritsz has acknowl- 

Englishman. edged, [he] is condemned [ ]. 

[ 1 9v] Cornelis Hendricksz van Es repeats his charge that the 
director wronged his son-in-law,^ which he is to prove. 

Cornelis Hendricksz van Es having several times by oppro- 
brious words slandered the person of the Hon. Director Slichten- 
horst, according to the complaint instituted in the matter, of 
which complaint a copy was handed to him three weeks ago, and 
[said van Es] now appearing in court, he persists that the honor- 
able director wronged or unjustly treated his son-in-law, Pieter 
Claesz. Which bald assertion remaining without any further 
evidence or proof, it is considered a great crime that such slander 
should be so loosely uttered. 

Appeared Willem Kay, together with Peter Hartgers, his 
brother-in-law,^ which said Peter Hartgers has lawfully bound 
himself as surety for the return within fourteen days, in as good 
condition as it now is, of the horse of the Vlacte called Ham- 
stien, with the saddle. And in case the aforesaid horse should 
be injured, [he binds himself] to make good the damage, and if 
it should die or stay away to pay one hundred and twenty guil- 
ders for it, cash. Which said conditions the aforesaid Hartgers 
has agreed to in court with a clasp of the hand, on the 21st of 
December 1648. 

[signed] B. v. SlICHTENHORST 

On the 27th ditto the horse was returned in as good condition 
as it was when received. 



^ swager, a word which may mean either son-in-law, or brother-in-law, 
but which is here used in the sense of son-in-law, referring to Pieter Claesz. 
See minutes of May 22, 1649. 

^ sn^aeger. Catrina Roelofs, the wife of Willem Key, and Sytje 
Roelofs, the wife of Pieter Hartgers, were sisters, both being daughters 
of Anneke Jans Bogardus by her first husband, Roelof Jansz from Master- 
land. The entire bond is in the handwriting of Van Slichtenhorst. 



54 Colony of RensselaersTv^cJi 

[20] Extraordinary session, December 19 Anno 1648 

Resolved that the honorable director shall once more summon 
Evert Pels to pay the w^ages of Claes Tyssen within twice 
twenty-four hours, it being found that he has given two summer 
skins, valued at 16 guilders, which is not acceptable. And in 
case he refuses to pay, the director is to advance the money, 
subject to the restitution of double the amount. 

On the 21st ditto, notice was served on Evert Pels in the 
presence of Mr Hoogens, by affixing said notice to the door.^ 

Cornelis van Es and Pieter Claesz declare before the court 
here that they have nothing to say about the person of the honor- 
able director but what is right and honorable and that they are 
very sorry for having used slanderous language against the honor- 
able director, saving the honorable director's further complaints, 
cum expensis. 

Aknowledged before me, 

Antonio DE Hooges, Secretary 

The Hon. Director Brandt van Slichtenhorst by this, his 
signature, promises to save Rutger Jacobsz and keep him harm- 
less from all loss and damage which may be caused to the said 
Rutger Jacobsz by the Hon. General Petrus Stuyvesant or his 
agents on account of the building which he intends to erect near 
the First kill," toward the hill. And the lease of the said house 
shall begin next Easter Anno 1649. Done in the colony of 
Rensselaerswyck, this 21st of December Anno 1648. 

[B. V. Slichtenhorst] 

[20v] June 22, 1648, Hans Vos was dismissed until after 
harvest time. 



^ Memorandum in the handwriting of Van Slichtenhorst. 
- The Rutten kill. See Earl}) Records of the Cit]) and County of 
Albany, 2:43. 



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Minutes of December 1 9, 1 648, showing signature of Anthony de Hooges, 

secretary 



Court Minutes, 1648-1652 55 

December 23 Anno 1648 

Hans Vos again engaged as court messenger for the period of 
four months on condition that he is to receive wages on the basis 
of 50 guilders a years and shall work for the honorable director 
two or three days a week at one guilder a day in addition to his 
wages and board and whenever he shall work for Pieter de Boer 
he shall receive wages according to the contract between them 
and if working for others whatever he can get. He shall also be 
held in the morning to fetch a pail of water, to cut fire wood and 
to spade one half of the garden, without receiving wages there- 
for. And Hans Vos has this day by shaking of hands, instead 
of an oath taken before the honorable director, promised during 
the aforesaid time faithfully to acquit himself of all his duties. 

[In the margin is written:] 

This contract remaining intact, Hans Vos has again agreed 
to serve, on condition that he shall receive twenty guilders per 
month, and he has promised to work one day a week for the 
patroon without pay. This 31st of January Anno 1650. His 
term of service begins New Year 1650. 

Hans Vos has confirmed this by 
the shaking of hands instead of 
an oath. 

Cornelis Segersz is asked whether he acknowledges the signa- 
ture which was put by him under the contract of his farm, dated 
August 25, 1643, to be his, or not, and if he does, the honor- 
able director demands that he be condemned to fulfil the contract 
in all its parts. Cum expensis. 
[Cornelis] Segersz 
[admits that the] signature 
[is his and is therefore] bound 
[to fulfil the contract in] all 
its parts. 

[A. DE Hoo]ges, Secretary 



56 Colony of RensselaersTV^ck 

[21 ] Director Slichtenhorst, plaintiff, against Hans in Cluys, 
defendant. 

Whereas Hans in Cluys ^ has twice, even as recently as last 
Sunday and that in the presence of the Domine, ventured to come 
by force into the director's house and to insult, affront and 
slander him in the highest degree with respect to his office, and 
boldly and impudently dared to ask him in public whether he, 
Slichtenhorst, was officer and judge alone in the colony, saying 
that he wanted a justification of his sentence from him, Slichten- 
horst, and many other insolent words, of which proof is 
demanded while the court is in session, or in default of proof 
that the delinquent by sentence of this honorable court shall be 
declared infamous and to have forfeited the sum of 300 guilders 
for having spoken rudely and insolently to the director. Con- 
sidering however that the delinquent has but small wages, [the 
director] concludes that he has forfeited each time, that is twice, 
10 guilders and [demands] that in addition he be declared 
infamous and furthermore that the delinquent be kept on water 
and bread or at the most be arbitrarily punished as an example 
to others, all at the discretion of the court, cum expensis. 
1 guilders agreed upon in the presence 
of the Domine and finis. 

[21v] Court proceedings, January 7 Anno 1649 

Jacob Lambertsz has this day by agreement finally paid his 
fine in the matter of his former dispute with the honorable 
director and Jochem Kettelheym. 

January 7 Anno 1649 

Cornelis van Es's contract regarding his farm being read to 
him v/ord for v/ord by the secretary, de Hooges, he is asked by 
the honorable director whether he acknowledges the same or not. 



* ^ Hans Jansz, from Rotterdam. 



Court Minutes, 1648-1652 57 

whereupon he answers that he acknowledges it in all its parts 
and provisions. It is ordered therefore that within 1 4 days, after 
the first notice, he must give sufficient security for the judgment, 
and in case he fails to do so within eight days after that date, he 
shall be fined double the amount, and so forth. 

[In the margin is written:] 

The 1 4th ditto notice was served on van Es with injunction to 
van Es and his wife not to molest Andries de Vos and his family 
by word or deed and [the contract] was once more read to him 
by de Hoogens. 

January [?], Vos also included in the injunction. 

January 9 Anno 1649 

Gysbert Comelisz being questioned in regard to the dispute 
between Jan van Bremen and Hans Vos, Gysbert declares that 
Jan van Bremen tried to put Hans Vos out of his, Gysbert's 
house, whereupon Gysbert said to the aforesaid Jan that he had 
nothing to say in his house and if he wished to give orders, he 
should do so in his own house. Furthermore, that Hans was 
struck by Jan while Gysbert was away, eating. 

[22] Court proceedings, January 21 Anno 1649 

The 20th ditto, Poulyntje ^ was summoned for having in an 
angry mood drawn his knife on Huybert," the servant of de Vos, 
in the brewery, for which he was fined fl. 1 00, according to the 
ordinance. Also, because said Poulyntje struck Huybert with 
his lists and made his nose bleed, for which he was lined the like 
amount. 

Poulyntje admits that he struck Huybert in such a way that 
his nose bled. 



^ Paulus Jansz. 
^ Huybert Jansz. 



58 Colony of Rensselaerswyclf 

As regards Cornells van Es: 

1 Judgment of fl. 150 with interest; also fl. 36:15, two skins; 

with costs. 

2 Judgment on account of the oat straw ; 1 To give security 

with costs. J for both 

3 Sentence on account of slander by the wife of van Es. 

Jan van Bremen. This day, the 1 5th of January of this year, 
Jan van Bremen was summoned for having in the spring, at the 
house and in the presence of Cryn Cornelisz, first struck Hans 
Vos on the head with his fist and then, without reason or excuse, 
drawn his knife on him and cut him about the head. And 
whereas the said van Bremen has heretofore engaged in fighting, 
he therefore owes a double fine according to the ordinance, so 
that he has forfeited: 

for fist blows, fl. 25 — double the amount fl. 50 
for drawing his knife, fl. 100; double, fl. 200 . 

March 30, 1648, Jacob Jansz Stol complained of violence 
commited by Jan van Bremen at night on his door and windows, 
for which he incurred a fine of fl. 1 50, and as it took place in the 
night, double the amount. 

Also that at midnight he severely wounded Kit Davits in the 
head with a pair of tongs, for which he incurred a fine of fl. 300, 
or double the amount, fl. 600. 

Furthermore, that he, van Bremen, made bold to take Hans 
Vos, the court messenger, by the arm and rudely tried to push 
him out of the house of the tavemkeeper, or another man's house, 
making him out to be an informer,^ all without cause or excuse, 
of which proof is demanded. And that thereafter, while Hans 
Vos was quietly standing under the mantepiece, smoking his' 
tobacco pipe, he dealt him a blow on the head with his fist. All 
of which things in a land where justice is administered neither 



'^ In the margin is written: And confirmed this on the 23rd of January 
in the presence of Van Bremen, saying that he called said Vos a thief 

[ ]. 



Court Minutes, 1648-1652 59 

can nor ought to be tolerated, but should be promptly and arbi- 
trarily punished, in order that the guilt of bloodshed may not 
come upon the heads of the patroon's judges [ ] 

[ ]. 

[22v] Pieter Claesz offers himself before the court as surety 
for Cornelis van Es to satisfy all judgments in actions which the 
honorable director may bring against said van Es, in toto. 

Witness, 

A. DE HOOGES 

Andries de Vos is to pay for the patroon's dues on his mill 
at Bethlehem the sum of fl. 62 : 1 — a year. 

January 29, 1649, Cornelis, called Vossgen, has taken the 
farm next to Rem Jansz, smith, to the north, on the same con- 
ditions as others, the lease whereof shall commence next Easter. 

The ramaker^ summoned for having fought on the 4th ditto 
in such a way that a piece of skin was torn from his face. Note. 

[23] [Ordinance] published the 31st of January Anno 1649 

The honorable director and commissioners of the colony of 
Rensselaerswyck, finding that many colonists on their own 
authority daily use the patroon's horses to draw logs and stone ^ 
and thereby cripple said horses and make them lame and stiff 
and greatly abuse them, contrary to the good intentions and pur- 
pose of the aforementioned patroon and his director and com- 
missioners who have put the said horses at their disposal only 
for the purpose of doing therewith their legitimate farm and other 
work, without injuring or abusing the same; and finding further- 
more that some drive their horses until they are warm and [tired] 
and then let them stand in the cold, hungry and thirsty, before 
the doors of the tavernkeepers and other persons, thus spoiling 
them; THEREFORE, their honors have ordained, as they do 



^ Jacob Adriaensz, wheelwright. 

^ At this time there was considerable building going on in the colony. 



60 Colony of Rensselaersrv})cJi 

ordain hereby, that no one shall be allowed to drive the patroon's 
horses for money [by the hour] or by the load, or to lend them 
to others to draw wood or stone, beyond such use as he may have 
to make of them himself for his farm or household, on pain of 
forfeiting for each load or violation [of this ordinance], the first 
time three guilders, the second time six guilders, the third time 
nine guilders and arbitrary correction. 

And as it is not their honors' intention to prevent any one from 
being accommodated for his money, they have no objection if 
those who are willing to drive for pay or by the load purchase 
two or more horses at their own expense and use them as they 
please to accommodate every one. Otherwise, their honors will 
make further provision in the matter. 

Every one is to govern himself accordingly. 

Thus done at a duly attended meeting 
[of the council] and published on the 
date above written. 
[23v] Copy 

Apostil granted by the honorable director general and council 
of New Netherland upon the petition presented by Adriaen 
vander Donck at the meeting of January 21 Anno 1649. 

The honorable director general and council having noted the 
contents of the petition order Director Slechtenhorst to release 
the grain attached by him, provided that the petitioner give 
security for the compensation for the horse, for which Director 
Slichtenhorst is to sue the petitioner before his competent judges. 
Thus done in council at Fort Amsterdam in New Netherland. 
Underneath was written: By order of the honorable director 
and council, and was signed : Cornelis van Tienhoven, Secretary. 
Agrees with the original apostil, Cornelis van Tienhoven, 
Secretary. 

Agrees with the original copy, ^ 

Which I certify, 

A. DE HoOGES, Secretary 



Court Minutes, 1 648-1 652 61 

I, Brandt van Slichtenhorst, in the capacity of director of the 
colony of Rensselaerswyck, notify you, Adriaen vander Donck, 
or whatever other Christian name you have, and let you know 
that on the 2d of January 1649, in my capacity aforesaid I 
caused the court messenger of this colony to attach, first, two 
hundred schepels of wheat which are still in the hands of Cornelis 
Segersz, per balance of the agreement entered into with the afore- 
said Cornelis Segersz, and whatever else belonging to you, vander 
Donck, is in the custody of the said Cornelis Segersz, and this 
in order to recover payment or compensation for a black stallion, 
valued at 300 guilders, and 5 cows at 80 guilders apiece, belong- 
ing to the honorable patroon and entrusted to the hands of vander 
Donck, with the interest thereon. So that, in my capacity afore- 
said, I hereby summon you, vander Donck, for so far as you may 
have an interest in the aforesaid wheat and other property, to 
appear on the 27th day of May Anno 1649 before the court of 
the aforesaid colony, in order to hear all such demand and 
prayer for relief as I, in my capacity aforesaid, may have to make 
and submit. In regard to which you must govern yourself as in 
your judgment will seem best. In the colony of Rensselaers- 
wyck, the [ ] of February Anno 1649.^ 

Agrees with the original. 

Which I certify, 

A. DE HOOGES, Secretary 

[24] Court proceedings, February 4 Anno 1649 

On the 27th of January, the honorable director summoned 
Nicolaes Koorn [to appear] in regard to vilification of the per- 
son of Hans Vos, court messenger, in making him out to be a 
rascal and an informer, demanding that [said Koorn] either 
prove said accusations in court, or else declare before the court 
that he knows nothing about said Vos but what is honorable and 

^ Marginal annotations destroyed. 



62 Colon]) of Rensselaers'W^ck 

right. Also for defamation of the honorable patroon and his 
director and council committed in the tavern, saying that they 
defrauded him and that fl. 1600 was still due him and witheld 
from him, which involves not merely a question of defamation, 
but also causes uneasiness among the common people, as if he, 
Koorn, was being defrauded to that extent, or so much was 
witheld from him. 

Thomas Chamber and Jochem Kettelheym, on the 12th of 
July 1 648, three several times engaged in fisticuffs in such a way 
that Tomas's face and nose bled profusely, and that on a Sunday 
in the presence of the honorable director, for which he is liable 
to the double fine, with costs. 

On the same date, the aforesaid Thomas came to the door of 
the trading house, to the director's, and again asked to fight and 
within the hearing of Dominus Megapolensis swore three or four 
times in most ungodly fashion, using God's Holy Name in vain, 
notwithstanding the honorable director and the minister rebuked 
him severely for it,^ it being Sunday and the director and the 
minister being present; for which he has incurred three times the 
fine of six guilders^ double, or three times twelve guilders. 

The 25 th of January 1649, Thomas Chamber in the tavern 
publicly called Hans Vos a rascal and an informer. And as 
Thomas did not stop, they threw mugs and other things at each 
other, go that the mugs broke, and this in the presence o£ Mons^ 
Looper^ and Master Abraham,^ for which he is liable to the 
double fine. 

Furthermore, [the director demands] that he, Thomas, while 
the court is in session, shall prove that Hans Vos is a rascal, or 
else declare that he knows nothing about him but what is right 
and honorable. 

[24v] It is ordered that Evert Pels, next Thursday shall 



^ In the margin is written : Thomas Chamber admits that he swore as 
stated, 

^ Captain Jacob Loper. 

^ Surgeon Abraham Staets. 



Court Minutes, 1648-1652 63 

present in court here the account of Claes Tyssen regarding the 
pease and five weeks' wages claimed by him, on pain of forfeiting 
three guilders/ 

Consent is given to Jan van Bremen to have a copy of the 
director's complaint, on condition that he plead thereto on the 
next court day. 

Whereas the honorable director, commissioners and council 
of this colony, on the 7th of December 1 648, ordered and 
warned all the colonists, farmers and users of the honorable 
patroon's property that they must within the space of fourteen 
days deliver their accounts in writing to the aforesaid honorable 
director, specifying the accounts for each year separately, under 
the penalty expressed in the said ordinance, which they have 
thus far failed to do, and finding that the winter has nearly gone 
by and spring is at hand and that the grain and effects daily 
disappear and become lost arid the honorable patroon in every- 
thing receives less recognition than a total stranger; therefore, 
their honors wishing to provide therein, hereby forbid all those, 
whoever they may be, who occupy the patroon's property on 
half or one third shares, or on payment of a yearly rental, to 
alienate, remove or dispose of any goods, whether grain, or other 
commodities, without having first satisfied the honorable patroon 
for everything, including the tithes, but without prejudice to the 
servants' wages, which shall be paid with the knowledge and 
advice of the aforesaid director, on pain of forfeiture for each 
transgression of the sum of 25 guilders and the alienated goods 
or other effects by those who in all fairness shall be judged to 
have violated the ordinance. R:Wyck, this 6th of February 
anno 1 649, pursuant to the resolution of their honors aforesaid. 
Was signed : A. de Hooges, Secretary. 

[25] February 18 Anno 1649 

Jacob Adriaensz, raedemaecJper (wheelwright), denies before 
us that he fought on the 4th of this month. 



^ In the margin is written: February 12, notice served on Pels. 



64 Colony of RensselaersTv^ck 

February 22 Anno 1649 

Whereas Jacob Adriaensz, raedemaecker, and Jacob Adria- 
ensz, tvaegenaer (wagoner), on the 21st of February 1649, not- 
withstanding the director's warning and on penalty of the highest 
fine to be imposed by him, as many as three times made bold to 
prevent the director from making an arrest as he was having 
hold of the delinquent's clothes and body, by holding on to his 
arms and body in such a way that he could not follow, saying 
also several times that they would not let him go along, which in 
a land of justice neither can nor ought to be tolerated, as every 
one in case of need is bound to lend the officers of justice a help- 
ing hand, according to the rule of the dear fatherland, for which 
according to law each of them must stand in the delinquent's 
place and expect the same punishment, and in addition for each 
offense forfeit the sum of 300 guilders and receive arbitrary cor- 
rection according to the ordinance of the 28th of May 1 648, and 
whereas each of them has committed the highest crime not only 
against the patroon by violating r is high and low jurisdiction but 
also against the States General, ^vhose place is occupied here, 
therefore, the hor^orable plaintiff demands, first, that each person 
shall give security for the satisfaction of the judgment, or, in 
default thereof, that they shall be placed in confinement and 
defend their case there; cum expensis. 

Fpr which purpose the raedemaecl^er is summoned to appear 
on the 22d and the Tvaegenaer on the 23d of February, at about 
9 o'clock in the forenoon. 

The raedemaec^er s first default. 

The honorable director has declared by true words that the 
above took place as follows: 

The 2 1 st of February 1 649, the honorable director, assisted 
by his son and Hans Vos, having come to the house of Jan 
Verbeeck, in the Greenen Bos, to arrest Jacob Toenys, the 
servant of Jan Verbeeck, on account of abusive language and 
violence between the son of the honorable director and said 
Jacob Toenys, Jacob raedemaecker, Jacob tvaegenaer and 
Harmen Bastiaensen ventured, notwithstanding the honorable 



Court Minutes, 1648-1652 65 

director forbade them to do so on pain of the highest fine which 
he could impose, to prevent, the honorable director from arresting 
the aforesaid Jacob Toenys [the remainder of the declaration is 
illegible or destroyed]. 

[25v] February 23 Anno 1649 
It is ordered that Jacob Adriaensen shall give security for the 
judgment, or in default thereof be taken into custody. 

The same is ordered with reference to Jacob Aertsz, 
teaegenaer. 

Evert Pels from Steltyn,^ by this his signature becomes surety 
and bail for Jacob Aertsz, waegenaer, for the satisfaction of the 
judgment and the costs in the action for preventing the execution 
of justice or making the arrest, as the court of this colony shall 
determine. Done this 25th of February Anno 1649. 

Evert Pels 

In the same way, in every respect. Evert Pels and Rutger 
Jacobsz become sureties and bailsmen for Jacob Adriaensz, 
raedemaecl^er. 

Rut Jacobsz 
Evert Pels 

Acknowledged before me, 

A: DE HoogES, Secretary 

The case of Jacob Aertsz, rvaegenaer, and Jacob Adriaensz, 
raedemaecJ^er, is with the full consent and approval of the honor- 
able director and Rut Jacobsz and Evert Pels, as sureties for 
the aforesaid persons, put for decision into the hands of two 
neutral and impartial men having legal knowledge and they 
therefore promise mutually to abide by the decision and to 
observe it in all respects. 

The parties aforesaid have mutually and voluntarily agreed 
to this, the [ ] of June Anno 1 649. 

Acknowledged before me, 

A. DE HoOGES, Secretary 
^ Stettin, Germany. 

3 



66 Colon}) of RensselaersTv^ck 

[26] February 22 Anno 1649 

Whereas Jacob Aryaensz, rademaecJ^er, Jacob Aertsz, 
rvagenaer, and Herman Bastiaensz, on February 21, 1649, in 
spite of the director's warning and under penalty of his highest 
fine, dared as many as three times each time publicly to prevent 
the director from making an arrest, while he had hold of the 
delinquent's^ body, immediately after [said delinquent] without 
any cause, much less justification, had struck his son Wencom," 
and in addition called him an informer and tried to force Wen- 
com to keep off his own patroon's ground, according to the delin- 
quent's own declaration (it being indeed intolerable and unheard 
of that a subject's servant should thus wrongly maltreat and 
grossly insult his lawful superior's son), and they, [the defend- 
ants] , held the delinquent by the arms and body and repeated 
several times that they would not let him go with the director, 
which in a land of justice neither can nor ought to go unpunished 
(as every one in case of need is bound to lend a helping hand to 
the officers of justice, according to the rule of the dear father- 
land), therefore, they have forfeited life and limb and according 
to written law must stand in the delinquent's place and severally 
receive the same punishment, fine and amercement for the crime 
committed, while in addition they have forfeited the sum of three 
hundred guilders, according to the ordinance of May 28, 1648, 
posted in this colony. And whereas each of the persons arrested 
has not only committed the most serious crime within the high 
and low jurisdiction of the honorable patroon, but has also in the 
highest manner violated the jurisdiction of the States General, 
whose place and administration of justice are represented here, 
therefore the honorable plaintiff demands that each person shall 
first of all give bail for the satisfaction of the judgment, since 



^ Jacob Toenys, servant of Jan Verbeeck. 

" Gerrit van Wencom, who at that time held the office of deputy schout 
of the colony, was not the director's son, but his nephew. He was suc- 
ceeded by the director's son, Gerrit van Slichtenhorst, which might account 
for the error, except for the fact that the entire entry is in the handwrit- 
ing of the director himself. 



Court Minutes, 1 648-1 652 67 

they own no real estate here, the more so as Jacob wagenaer has 
hertofore grossly insulted the former officer, Verdonck,^ and 
broken the lord's bonds [of justice] ; or, in default thereof, that 
they may be placed under civil arrest or in confinement and there 
made to defend their case, all cum expensis.^ 

February 21, 1 649, the honorable director, assisted by his 
son and Hans Vos, having come to the house of Jan Verbeeck 
to arrest the person of [Jacob Toenys, servant of Jan] Verbeeck, 
on account of abusive words . . . [the remainder of the 
page is destroyed.] 

[In the margin is written:] 

The honorable director, his honor's son and Hans Vos declare 
by true words that this took place as here stated. 

Which [I certify,] 

[A. DE HOOGES, Secretary] 

[26v] Court Proceedings, March 4 Anno 1649 

Jan Reyersz acknowledges that he owes Albert Andriesz 
fl. 71 and promises to pay the same at the first opportunity to 
the deaconry of this colony. 

The honorable director, plaintiff, against Harmen Bastiaensz, 
defendant. Cum expen&is. First default. 

Aert Pietersz "] 

r\ • r> V ^ First default. 
Vs2uiryn Cornelisz J 

Appeared in the afternoon: 

Quiryn Cornelisz, who admits that he owes Albert Andriesz 
fl. 69:-, but for the present has no means of paying. 

Quiryn CorneHsz declares that in the fore part of the year 1 643, 
as the wedding guests were going over the ice to the wedding of 
the daughters of van Es, a mare of the said Cryn and a stallion 



^ Adriaen van der Donck. 

^In the margin is written: The 3d ditto, Hans Vos served notice on 



Rut Jacobs and Evert Pels. 



68 Colon}) of RensselaersTv^cJ^ 

of van der Donck were drowned near the swarte, or paerde 
hoeck,^ and that he, Cryn, is under the impression that van der 
Donck received therefor from the wedding guests one hundred 
and fifty guilders. 

[27] Jaques Neulewels declares here that the servant of 
Sander Leendersz on March 1 , 1 649, went into the woods with 
a savage, who had a whole loaf of bread, which was cut up in 
the woods for the savages and after they had eaten it, they went 
with six packs, led by the servant, together into Sander's house, 

March 1 1 Anno 1 649 

Sander Leendersz acknowledges the contract made by him 
with the late patroon on March 28, 1639, and says that he knows 
of no other contract than that. It must therefore be carried out 
in all its parts, as well as that granted by the court on February 
23, Anno 1645. 

Sander Leendersz admits having sailed two yachts since 1641, 
for three years, and says that he knows of no other contracts. 

Catalyn SandeVs admits that she signed with her own hand 
the contract made with the patroon on March 28, Anno 1639, 
and that she has a copy of it at her house. Whereupon complete 
condemnation is asked. 

Catalyn Sanders also acknowledges the contract entered into 
with the court of this colony on February 23, Anno 1645, and 
says that she knows of no other contracts. 

Catalyn says that they sailed two yachts of the patroon, but 
not while they tapped liquor. 

March [ ] Cornelis Segersz has through Hans Vos 

[requested that he be] released by the court from [ 

]. 



^ Now Parda hook, about a mile south of Van Wie's point. 



Court Minutes, 1 648-1 652 69 

[27v] Court proceedings, March 18, 1649 

Harmen Bastiaensz having heard the complaint of the honor- 
able director read to liim, answers that they must call him before 
his competent judges. 

Cornelis Segersz has agreed with Thomas Keuningh to take 
his boy into his service from this date, paying him according to 
the time, provided that the boy must serve in the next harvest. 
If in binding he keeps up with one mower, he is to receive one 
guilder; if with two, two guilders. 

Cornelis Segersz being in dispute with Willem de Key about 
pease purchased by him, their case is referred to two neutral 
arbitrators, whose decision as to their value they are to follow, 
to wit, such arbitrators as they shall nominate. 

Jacob Lambertsz Dorlandt is ordered to pay to the honorable 
director the fine imposed upon him by sentence within the space 
of fourteen days after the service of notice, under penalty of 
execution and a fine of fl.3.^ 

The case of Jacob rvaegermer and Jacob raedemaecf^er is sub- 
mitted to the discretion of impartial men, with the consent of the 
honorable director and Ruth Jacobsz and Evert Pels, as sureties. 

[28] Court proceedings, March 25 Anno 1649 

A warrant of arrest and summons having been served upon 
Willem de Key at the request of Cornelis Segersz on account of 
200 schepels of wheat which he, Willem de Key, admits having 
taken on board his yacht and carried past the house of Evert 
Pels, but which on account of the inclemency of the early winter, 
at Willem de Key's request, were taken out of the yacht by the 
said Cornelis and removed to the Greenen Bos to the brewery 



^ In the margin is written : March [ ] , Hans Vos served notice 

on Jacob Lamberts. 



70 Colony of Rensselaersivycli; 

and the house of Domine Megapolensis/ Willem de Key 
answers that at the first opportunity he will reply to everything in 
writing. 

Apostil on the petition of Nicolaes Koom 

Serves for apostil: 

Nicolaes Koorn is again referred to the order last sent to him, 
but for certain reasons the time is prolonged or extended until 
this day fortnight, under the penalty heretofore provided. 

Jan Thomasz's contract is canceled by the honorable director 
for so far as he is concerned. 

On the date above written Evert Pels transfers and conveys 
to Jeuriaen Bestvall the house, haybarracks and barn as they 
have to this date been used by Evert Pels, everything to be 
appraised at a convenieat time by impartial men. 

[28v] April 3 Anno 1649 

Sander Leendersz becomes surety for all actions and fines 
which the honorable director may institute against or demand of 
his servant, Egbert Doysz, submitting himself to the court here. 

Sander Leendersz, by his signature, promises to perform this. 

Witnessed by me, 

A: DE HooGES, Secretary 

On the date above written the following notice was served on: 
Cornelis Teunisz van Westbroeck 
Volckert Hansz, and 
Cornelis Vos 

You have license to carry on lawful trade, but in no wise to 
carry on any illegitimate trade, as is daily done by you in running 
into the woods to meet the savages who come with beavers and 



^ Domine Megapolensis .resided on the east side of the Hudson river, 
obliquely opposite Fort Orange in the so-called Kerckhuurte, or church 
neighborhood, which by O'Callaghan, History of New Netherland, 
1 :330. and Brodhead. Histor]) of the Slate of New York, 1 :343 is 
erroneously placed on the west side of the river, near the Beaver's 
creek. Cf. Van Rensselaer Dowier Mss, p. 454, 619. 



Court Minutes, 1648-1652 71 

in promising them presents of stockings, hatchets and other goods 
if they will come to your houses to trade, and after having thus 
traded with them giving them a little note to tell other savages 
where you dwell and such presents as will induce them to come 
to you to trade. 

You are hereby warned and forbidden by the court to carry 
on such illegitimate trade, in violation of the ordinance. 

Cornelis Teunisz promises to observe this, provided those of 
the fort do likewise, as heretofore they have not done. 

Volckert Hansz agrees to do as Cornelis Teunisz. 

Cornelis Vos promises the same. 

[29] April 15 Anno 1649 

Cornelis Teunisz van Breuckelen having been notified that he 
is alleged to have said that changes were made in the contracts 
after the time the leases were signed, which he denies, asks that 
the case be put over until Rutger Jacobsz comes up the river. 

Also, that Cornelis Teunisz on April 5, 1649, having called 
to the honorable director to come out of his house, gave up the 
lease of his farm, to which the honorable director consented on 
condition that he should render his accounts, which Cornelis 
Teunisz admits. 

On the petition of Cornelis Segersz it is ordered that he must 
first turn all his accounts regarding the grain over to the director 
and that then a copy will be exhibited at his expense. 

Jacob Lambertsz is again ordered to satisfy the judgment of 
March 8, 1 649, within eight days from the time notice is served, 
under penalty of six guilders, and if he remains in default another 
eight days, nine guilders. 

[In the margin is written : ] 3 days after the 1 5th of this month, 
notice was served on Jacob Lambertsz by Slichtenhorst himself, 
on the land of Thomas Jansz. 

Whereas Claes Gerritsz has thus far failed to satisfy the judg- 
ment of December 1 7, 1 648, he is again ordered to satisfy the 



11 



Colony of Rensselaersw^cl^ 



same within three weeks from the time notice hereof is served, 
on pain of forfeiting two pounds Flemish. 

The honorable director, plaintiff, 

against 

Jacob Schermerhorn 

Gerrit, the cooper ^ 

f^oelandt,* the nephew (neve) of 

Mr Stuyvesant 
Pieter Loockemans 
Marten, the mason ^ 
Rem, the smith * 
Willem Jansz Stol 
Hendrick Driesz 
Meynert, a carpenter 
Lammert van Valckenburgh 



[1st] default 



defendants 



[29v] Court proceedings, April 29 Anno 1649 

Nicolaes Coorn is ordered once more and for the last time 
that he must render and deliver his account and statement of 
all his claims in the form heretofore mentioned within the space 
of twice twenty-four hours, under the penalty provided. 

[ In the margin is written : ] May [ ] , written notice was 

served on Coorn. 

Cornelis Teunisz van Breuckelen to be asked in court whether 
he still stands by the words spoken by him twice on April 7, 
1649, to Director Slichtenhorst, to wit, that he, Slichtenhorst, 
had changed the contracts under which the six lots were leased 
on September 1 4, 1 648, after the leases were signed and that the 
copies which they had procured of the said contracts or agree- 
ments did not agree with the original terms which were read to 



^ Gerrit Jansz, Ifu^per. 

^ Roelandt Savary? See minutes of March 16, 1651, 

^Marten Harmensz? 

* Rem Jansz. 



Court Minutes, J 648-/ 652 73 

them at the time the aforesaid leasing took place, to which 
he added that he and Rutger, Jacobsz 2Uid two or three other 
persons would prove what is stated above. Whereupon a cate- 
gorical answer, yes or no, is demanded, and in case no answer 
is made, that it be taken that he, Breuckelen, still stands by what 
he said. 

Cornelis Teunisz asking for a copy of the foregoing charges 
and eight days' delay in which to make answer, his request is 
granted. 

Whereas Cornelis Hendricksz van Es has before this been 
called upon and urged by the honorable director of the colony 
of Rensselaerswyck to pay a certain bond given in case Cryn 
Cornelisz should fail to pay, amounting to the sum of one hun- 
dred and fifty guilders, and also an absolute assignment of thirty- 
six guilders, fifteen stivers, as per account of Roelof Cornelisz, 
which aforesaid bond is signed by the said van Es and C[ornelis] 
Crynen, who was also called upon to pay before the said van Es, 
but declared that he had [no money] for the present. And 
whereas Cornelis [van Es] , for the reason aforesaid, caused 
Cornelis Crynen to be arrested and summoned to appear in court, 
as he did appear twice, to recover the amount from him, but 
van Es failed to appear and to prosecute his action, therefore 
Cornelis Crynen [ | 

[30] so that for the reason above mentioned it is ordered that 
he, van Es, shall tender and pay the amount of the bond and 
the assignment, with interest at the rate of one penny in sixteen, 
before his departure from here, referring him for the recovery of 
the amount to the person against whom his action must be 
brought and whom he caused to be arrested and summoned to 
appear, to wit, Cornelis Crynen ; all cum expensis. 

Cornelis van Es 



First 
default 






and 
Pieter Claes 



persons attached and summoned 
to appear on the next court day. 



which is now, action being brought by the director against both 
and by Andries de Vos against Pieter Claesz. 



74 Colony of Rensselaersn>^c}( 

Hans Vos is ordered by the court to proceed to the house of 
Cornelis van Es and Pieter Claesz, to watch over their property 
until they shall have rendered their accounts and performed their 
duties, all on payment of proper wages to Hans Vos. 

This day. May 3, 1649, Jacob Hevick has leased from the 
director and commissioners of this colony at twenty guilders a 
year, for the term of six years, a certain house belonging to him 
and a garden situated north of the house and farm of Jan 
Baerentsz and south of that of Thomasz Jansz, provided that 
Jacob Hevick shall have free of rent all the land that he shall 
clear within the aforesaid time; furthermore Jacob must in addi- 
tion yearly deliver two pairs of fowls. The lease commenced 
at Easter. 

B. V. Slichtenhorst 
This is X the mark of 
Jacob Hevick, made with his own hand 
Jan van Twiller 
This is the X mark of 
WiLLEM Fredericksz, as witness 
Acknowledged before me, 

A: DE HoOGES, Secretary 

[In the margin is written:] 

As heretofore a considerable trade was carried on at this 
place, but this has now almost completely ceased, this is the 
reason that the place rents for not more than 20 guilders a year. 

[30v] This day, the 4th of May 1 649, Antony de Hooges 
and Pieter Hertgers have jointly leased from the honorable 
director of this colony, for the term of three years, for a garden, 
the ground lying to the north of and close under [the walls of] 
Fort Orange, to the south of and next to the yard of the honor- 
able patroon, being the ground where heretofore the trading 
house of the honorable patroon stood, and to the east of the 



Court Minutes, 1648-1652 75 

churchyard/ on condition that they give one beaver a year. In 
case necessity requires it, the director reserves the right to lay 
out a road through the garden to the churchyard, or an emer-' 
gency road,^ on condition that two gates shall be made and kept 
in repair at the patroon's expense. The lessees have signed this 
lease with their own hands. Done in Rensselaerswyck, on the 
date above written. 

A : DE HOOGES 

PlETER HeRTGERS 

Court proceedings. May 6 Anno 1649 

Pieter Claesz promises here before the court to deliver up the 
house, barn and hay barracks used by him last year in as good 
condition as he received them. 

[A note in the margin says:] De Vos has used his barn five 
years, his dwelling house three years and the hay barrack four 
years. 



^ voorde t^dt van dr'ie Jaeren gepacht de gront tot een tu^n gelegen 
benoorden dicht ondert Fort Orangien, besu^den naest aenden Hoff 
vande Ed: Heer Patroon, s^nde de gront daer voor desen het handelhu^s 
vande Ed: Heer Patroon heeft gestaen, ende beoosten het k^rckhof. The 
patroon's Hoff probably refers to the garden belonging to the patroon's 
house, which was occupied by Van Slichtenhorst. Van Slichtenhorst 
afterwards claimed that he had more than a hundred sleigh loads of 
manure drawn into this hof and kept the clapboard fence around it in 
repair at his own fexpense. The term /ferc^/io/ may be used in the general 
sense of a burying ground, but may also mean the plot around the former 
trading house of the patroon, which according to a petition presented 
by de Hooges on March 27, 1648, had shortly before been turned 
into a church. The words: "being the ground where heretofore the 
trading house of the honorable patroon stood," are inserted in the margin 
and may, perhaps, in the original have been inserted in the wrong place 
and be intended to apply, not to the Hoff, but to the ground leased for a 
garden. 

^ Nootwech. Hugo de Groot, Inleidmg tot de Hollandsche Rechts- 
Celeerdhe^d, Book II, chap. 35, § 7, says: Noodrveg is een Weg alleen 
te gebruicken tot den oogst, tot een Ujck ofte andere noodzakelickheid 
(Noodweg is a road to be used only for the transportation of crops, a 
dead body, or for other necessary purposes). 



76 Colon]) of Rensselaersw^ck 

May 28 Anno 1649 

Whereas Director Sliohtenhorst caused 200 schepels of wheat 
belonging to Adriaen vander Donck to be attached, whereof a 
written notice was sent to him and a date was set for trial of the 
case on the 27th of May Anno 1649, payment is demanded for 
the horses, cattle and the appurtenances thereof, according to 
the notice, cum expensis; and in case of failure to appear, [it is 
demanded that] the first default [be granted] , with the benefit 
thereof, and the right to serve peremptory notice de novo and to 
appoint another day for trial. 

[31] Whereas Gysbert Cornelisz aende Berch was ordered 
some time ago to deliver to Evert Pels two cows with a heifer 
and he, Gysbert, being called upon and urged to do so, has posi- 
tively and stubbornly refused to give up the aforesaid cattle, he 
is hereby ordered by the court to deliver the said cattle to Evert 
Pels or his agent under the penalty of three guilders for one day's 
delay, six guilders for two days, nine guilders for three days and 
so on multiplied, and arbitrary correction, cum expensis. 

[In the margin:] May 19, this order was served and read 
to him. 

For which refusal the aforesaid Gysbert is summoned to 
appear in court under penalty of the highest fine to be imposed 
by the patroon. 

Court proceedings. May 20 Anno 1649 
[Part of the page left blank] 

May 22, 1649 

Pieter Claesz is released from his bail bond executed for his 

father-in-law * van Es, dated March [ ] 

[ ] his own action [ ] 

[31v] Copy 

Pieter Claesz, [you are hereby] ordered to let Jan van 
Bremen have two of the strongest horses, one stallion and one 



^ Schoon vaeder. 



Court Minutes, 1648-1652 11 

gelding, which said Jan shall feed oats at his expense, for which 
room shall be given him at your house, and in case you refuse, 
you are liable to the fine imposed in such cases. Guard yourself 
against damage. February 3, Anno 1649. 

By order of the director and the commissioners, 

A. DE HoOGES, Secretary 

Court Proceedings, May 29 Anno 1649 

The honorable court of this colony of Rensselaerswyck having 
examined the complaint of the director • against Michiel Jansz, 
together with the answer, replication and rejoinder, and having 
duly considered everything, hereby order the said defendant to 
render an itemized account of everything in proper form to the 
aforesaid director. 

[32] May 31, 1649 

Whereas question has arisen between Director Slichtenhorst 
and Mons^ Adriaen vander Donck about the claim heretofore 
presented by vander Donck, the director, after examination of 
his lawful debit and alleged credit accounts, caused two hundred 
schepels of wheat belonging to vander Donck to be attached, 
according to the writ served on him, in which the date on which 
he was to appear was fixed at the 27th of May 1649. Vander 
Donck having appeared on the 2 1 st instant, it was arranged and 
agreed that the 21st instead of the 27th woulci serve as the date 
of appearance, as it actually did serve, as will sufficiently appear 
from the complaint and the written answer of vander Donck, in, 
his own hand. And whereas vander Donck claims and alleges 
that the appointed day passed without prosecution of the case, 
and he, in bad faith, transferred his title to the aforesaid 200 
schepels of wheat to others (in derogation of vander Donck's 
former agreement) , as vander Donck has himself declared in 
the presence of the said Slichtenhorst and Antonio de Hooges, 
therefore, the court messenger, by order of the director, on the 



78 Colony of RemselaersTv^ck 

3 1 st of the aforesaid month of May, once more served an attach- 
ment against the person of the said vander Donck and by mutual 
consent arranged to have court held at tw^o o'clock in the after- 
noon of the said 3 1 st of May ; however, without prejudice to 
Director Slichtenhorst's former legal right as regards the wheat 
transferred to others, which remains intact as before and for 
which the former attachment was made, his case being prose- 
cuted from day to day, at the expense of the party who shall be 
found in th® wrong, for which security is demanded; all without 
loss or damage, cum expensis. 

Furthermore, an attachment is served against him to make 
reply to written interrogatories. 

Extraordinary session, on the date above written 

The honorable court shows that the 200 schepels of wheat 
belonging to Adriaen vander Donck, which were attached, can 
not be received or delivered without the consent of the court, as 
the attachment was made by order of the court . 
[remainder illegible]. 

[32v] Copy 

After the fire, in the year 1646, had destroyed one of the 
[two] farms on jCasteels island, Adriaen vander Donck, who 
had had possession thereof, resolved to sell his remaining interest 
in the farm, with the consent of and before the court. After the 
sale, vander Donck resolved to leave the colony, which he did, 
also .with the consent of the court, having first delivered his 
account to Mons^ de Hooges. But as they could not finally 
settle the accounts in regard to the burned house and some other 
claims on both sides, they decided to write at the first opportunity 
for advice to the guardians of the patroon of the colony and then 
to settle their accounts. Thereupon vander Donck departed. 

Anno 1647, after the arrival of the ship Valckenier, vander 
Donck brought suit before the court against Mons^ de Hooges, 
while he was at the Manhatans and demanded final settlement, 
but de Hooges had not yet sent over the account, so that he was 



Court Minutes, 1648-1652 79 

ordered to do so at the first opportunity, when they were to pro- 
ceed with the case. The account was sent over on the ship de 
Princes, which was wrecked and the account was lost. Anna 
1648, Director Brant van Shchtenhorst arrived and vander 
Donck several times requested him, verbally and in writing and 
also by petition to pay the money coming to him according to 
his account, but never received any. Finally, some effects of 
vander Donck having been attached by the director of this colony 
anno 1 649, the [ ] of May, it was agreed upon by Director 

Brant van Shchtenhorst on the one side and Adriaen vander 
Donck on the other side [ ] 

[ ]' 

[33] guardians of the honorable patroon of this colony and- 
Adriaen vander Donck, upon this condition and stipulation that 
whoever is entitled to anything shall receive the money there,^ 
without the parties referring each other to New Netherland. 
And in case it should happen that the honorable guardians on 
the one side and Adriaen vander Donck on the other side had 
any points about which they could not agree, neither of the 
parties, to wit, neither the honorable guardians, nor vander 
Donck, shall have the right to resort to or make use of judicial 
proceedings to settle the matter, but both parties, the guardians 
as well as vander Donck, shall be held to leave their dispute to 
the decision of arbitrators, whom they shall mutually chose, each 
party choosing one according to his pleasure and the two joining 
to themselves a third person, to whom all disputes shall be left 
for final decision, without either side attempting to do anything 
to the contrary. And the director of the colony of Rensselaers- 
wyck hereby promises and binds himself that the honorable 
guardians on their part shall faithfully carry out this contract 
without any exception, just as vander Donck on his part promises 
to do this. But in case either one of the parties, except by reason 
of death or other serious misfortune, should fail to perform his 



^ Namely, in Holland. 



80 Colon}^ of Rensselaersiv^cli 

part, the other party shall be free to recover his loss and damage 
wherever it shall seem best to him. 

Furthermore, Director Slichtenhorst shall not write to his 
honorable masters about this matter or advise them of it without 
showing Adriaen vander Donck before his departure [ ] 

[ ] 

[33v] vander Donck, after receipt of the gravamina to be 
brought forward by the honorable Director Slichtenhorst, shall 
deliver to his honor the reply with such other gravamina, if any, 
as he may have, and thus mutually exchange the papers in the 
case. Thus done and decided in good faith on the date above 
written, and in witness of the truth confirmed with their usual 
signatures and sealed with their seals, in the colony of Rens- 
selaerswyck. And was signed: 

B. V. Slichtenhorst 

Adriaen vander Donck 

And besides their 
names sealed with the seals of 
both of them. 
Below was written: 

Thus signed and sealed and acknowledged 
before me, secretary of the colony of 
Rensselaerswyck, 

Antonio de Hooges, Secretary 
After collation this is found to agree with the original. 

Certified by me, 

A: DE Hooges, Secretary 

[34] Court proceedings, June 3 Anno 1649 

TTiomas Jansz, plaintiff, against Evert Pels, about surgeon's 
fees for wounds inflicted. 

Evert Pels says that he is not bound to make compensation, 
because Thomas Jansz was just as guilty as he was. 



Court Minutes, 1648-1652 81 

Hans Vos is ordered and commanded to go to the house of 
Gysbert aende Berch and there by judicial process to levy the 
share of the animals for the farm of Evert Pels, as was ordered 
heretofore, to vv^it, 2 cows and one heifer. 

June 4 Anno 1 649 

The honorable director of the colony of Rensselaerswyck and 
Evert Pels have by mutual consent, without any further claims 
on their part in any manner whatsoever, completely referred and 
turned over to Mons^ Adriaen vander Donck and Jan Lourisz 
Appel for proper decision and settlement the legal questions at 
issue between them both, to which [decision] they fully submit 
themselves. 

B. v. Slichtenhorst Evert Pels 

Acknowledged before me, 

A: DE HoOGES, Secretary 

[34v] June 5 Anno 1649 

Director Brant van Slichtenhorst and A. de Hooges and 
Johannes van Twiller as commissioners have after mature 
deliberation ordered and decided, as they do hereby, that 
Adriaen vander Donck may not receive or unload the two hun- 
dred schepels of wheat attached in the hands of Cornelis Segersz, 
except upon security given by two sufficient sureties before the 
court here, in default whereof the attachment will remain in full 
force. 

Johannes van Twiller is granted permission by the honorable 
director to transport out of the colony for Mr Stuyvesant a horse 
belonging to Cornelis Segersz, provided he receive in return a 
horse of Curasao or other breed; and Joannes van Twiller hereby 
guarantees the honorable director against all loss. Dated as 
above. 

Jan van Twiller 



82 Colon}) of Rensselaer sTi>\)cIi 

Pieter Claes has left the colony of Rensselaersvvyck with the 
knov/ledge and consent of the honorable director of the aforesaid 
colony, on condition that he would satisfy and pay Hans Vos for 
performing his duties at his house by order of the court, accord- 
ing to the resolution. Also upon condition that in accordance 
with his own promise he would deliver up the house, barn and 
hay barracks heretofore used by him, in as good condition as 
he found them. Done in the colony of Rensselaerswyck, this 
day, the 5th of June 1 649. 

June 6, 1649 — Jacob Jansz Stol, for the fine incurred on 
account of [assault on] Hans Vos committed on the same date 
and the court day set for the first [of July]. 

[35] Extraordinary session, June 8, 1649 

Claes Tyssen, on June 7, 1 649, had the court messenger serve 
an attachment against Adriaen vander Donck here in the colony 
and appoint a court day, namely, the 8th of this month, on which 
to settle his account and make payment according to the agree- 
ment between the parties. 

Claes Andriesz and Dirck Hendricksz, both of Hilverson, are 
ordered to fulfil their contract of service with those to whom they 
are assigned, under penalty, on the next default, of being put on 
bread and water for eight days at their own expense, with costs. 
This will serve as a strict warning that they must faithfully per- 
form their service, their first offense being hereby overlooked. 

Adriaen vander Donck declares here before the court, by 
handfast, that he owes Claes Tyssen no more than fl. 53, say 
fifty-three guilders. 

Willem Fredericksz becomes surety for vander Donck's debt 
of fl. 53 to Claes Tyssen. 

Court proceedings, June 10 Anno 1649 

Antony de Hooges becomes surety for two hundred schepels 
of wheat in the hands of Cornelis Segersz which are levied by 
the director on account of Adriaen vander Donck. 



Court Minutes. 1648-1652 83 

Cornelis Segersz is ordered by the court to deliver to the 
honorable director of this colony, or his agent, two hundred 
schepels of wheat for the payment of [ ] on pain 

of forfeiting six guilders for [ ] delay 

after notice shall have been served. 

[35v] This 14th of June 1649, Christoffel Davits has in my 
presence taken over Dirck Hendricksz from Hilverson and by 
handfast promised to keep the director free from all loss and 



lamage. 



Which I certify, 

A. DE HoOGES, Secretary 

Court proceedings, June 1 7 Anno 1 649 

Cornelis Segersz, being summoned to appear about the pay- 
ment to be made to Jan van Bremen on account of the honorable 
director, as per his order, promises and is hereby ordered imme- 
diately to satisfy and pay Jan Dircksz in wheat or other goods 
of sufficient value and in case the parties have any other differ- 
ence between them, they may adjust and settle their accounts 
with one another, and if they can not agree, exhibit the matter 
in court, all without prejudice to the claim of the honorable 
plaintiff. 

Director B. v. Slichtenhorst, plaintiff, against Jan Louwerensz, 
defendant, being arrested and summoned to appear on this date 
about slander, according to the complaint of the plaintiff. Non 
comparuit. First default. 

18 June 1649 — Jan Tomensz and Jan Hageman summoned 

by Vos for the second time, under penalty of 3 gl. 
Appeared, but refused to take the oath. 

1 9 ditto — Jan Tomensz and Jan Hageman summoned for the 

third time, under penalty of 6 gl., to appear on Monday 
at 9 o'clock, 
ditto — Volckert Hansz summoned by Vos to appear on 
the same day, or the 1 9th ditto, but did not appear. 



84 Colony^ of RensselaersiiJ^ck 

21 ditto Jan Tomensz and Jan Hageman summoned for the 
third time under penalty of 9 gl. to appear on the 22d 
ditto [to give testimony?] to the truth and again sum- 
moned to appear on the 24th. 

On the 22d, Jan Appel was summoned for the second time at 
Slichtenhorst's demand to appear on the 24th. 

[36] Court proceedings, June 24 Anno 1649 

The director, plaintiff, against Jan Louwrensz Appel. Second 
default. 

Jan Haegeman and Jan Thomasz, being summoned. First 
default. 

Jan Verbeeck has appointed this day for Gerrit Vasterick to 
appear in court. Non comparuit. First default. 

June 28, 1649. Jan Dirricksz owes Peter Claes 235 gls., 
which money has been attached in the hands of Jan Dirricksz as 
security for the delivery [by Peter Claesz] of the patroon's horse 
and the house in as good a condition as he received them, and 
for the wages of Hans Vos. 

This day, the 29th of June 1649, Director B. v. Slichten- 
horst, in the presence, of Antonio de Hooges and Johannes van 
Twiller, has delivered to Claes Bordingh all the writings and 
papers in the suit between the said Mr Slichtenhorst and Adriaen 
vander Donck, to deliver them faithfully to Adriaen vander 
Donck. ^ 

[Marginal annotation] July 22, 1649, Claes Bordingh 
reported that he delivered the documents to Verdonck, to wit, 
on July 6, 1 649, early in the morning, as he came out of bed. 

June 28, 1 648 [ 1 649] , Hans Vos, in the name of the director, 
summoned Jan Appel in the colony to appear in court on July 1 , 
1649. 

The 29th ditto, Cornelis Tuenisz van Brueckelom summoned 
for the second time at the request of the director to appear in 
court on the 1 st of July. 



Court Minutes, 1648-1652 85 

Court proceedings, July 1 Anno 1649 

The honorable director, plaintiff, against Jan Haegeman, 
defendant. 

1 Proof is demanded that he had permission to trade 

beavers, powder and lead in the colony. 

2 How many beavers he traded there? 

3 To give security for the judgment. 

Jan Lourensz and Cornelis Theunisz van Breuckelen sum- 
moned to appear. First default. 

[36v] July 1. Jan Louwerensz Appel summoned again, for 
the fourth time, to appear here before the court on the 8th of 
this month. 

July 3. Carsten, the Noorman, summoned on a writ of attach- 
ment at the request of de Hoogens to appear on the next court 
day, being the 8th of this month. 

Court proceedings, July 8 Anno 1649 

Aert Pietersz, being summoned to appear before the court at 
the instance of Domine Megapolensis, as attorney, to state 
whether he is willing and intends to fulfil his promise to a cer- 
tain woman, named Blancke Ael,^ Aert Pietersz says. Yes, 
and promises to have himself legally united to her in matrimony 
at the first opportunity. 

Jan Louwerensz being summoned for the fourth time on a 
warrant of attachment, makes no answer, much less purges him- 
self of the charges against him, but requests judgment. 

Carsten Carstensz, being summoned, non comparuit. First 
default. 

The honorable director asks for the last time citation and then 
peremptory sentence in the matter of Jan Appel. 

Claes Gerritsz states here before the court that he pays no 
regard to the sentence of December 1 7, 1 648. 



^ Literally : Fair, or light-complexioned, Alida. 



86 Colony of Rensselaers'D>^ck 

On the 8th instant Jan Appel was summoned in the colony to 
appear again or once more before the court on the 1 5th. 

July 12, Broer Cornelis was cited to appear before the court 
on the 15th. 

The 12th ditto, Jacob Aryaensz RamaecJ^er was cited to 
satisfy the judgment against him for the payment of the rent for 
the year 1648. Also that on account of his fisticuffs with 
Cornelis boer^ on the island on June 20, 1 649, in the presence of 
witnesses. 

[37] Court proceedings, July 15 Anno 1649 

The honorable director issues an attachment against Jacob 
Aryaensz Rademaecker to satisfy the judgment and pay the rent 
for the year 1 648, and to satisfy the plaintiff in regard to the 
line to be paid for fighting with Kees de boer on June 20, 1 649, 
in the presence of witnesses. 

The director, plaintiff, against Teunis Dircksz, defendant, 
about the rent of the brewery. First default. 

Christoffel Davits admits here before the court that he loaned 
the horse which perished to Thomas," a mason and an English- 
man. 

The honorable court, having heard and read the complaint 
of the director of this colony against Jan Louwrensz Appel and 
finding that Jan Louwrensz was summoned four or five times, 
but has jiot brought in any formal answer and only asked that 
sentence should be pronounced. And whereas he has as yet 
not brought forward any proper defense and seems tacitly to 
admit the charges, the honorable court have decided, as they 
decide hereby, that if Jan Louwrensz does not purge himself on 
the next court day of the charges brought by the director, he 
shall be condemned to paj' the lord's highest fine and all the 
costs of the suit incurred according to the declaration to be made 



^ Cornells Segersz van Voorhout, farmer on Castle island. 
' Thomas Fairfax. 



Court Minutes, 1 648-1 652 87 

thereof and if he does not appear cind properly purge himself 
of the charges, he shall be declared in contempt. 

[37v] Whereas the honorable director has caused Teunis 
Dircksz to be summoned to appear on account of the receipt of 
the payment of the rent of the brewery and he has failed to 
appear, the director is authorized, upon condition of giving 
security, to levy on the property of Mr Abraham Staas and 
Pieter Hertgers for the balance of the aforesaid rent. 

Copy 

We, Abraham Staas and Jacob Jansz Stol, acknowledge that 
we become bail, each one separately, for the appearance of the 
wife of Sander Leendersz, in the action brought by Director 
Slichtenhorst according to the written summons read to her, dated 
July 16, 1649, submitting ourselves to the judicature of the 
colony of Rensselaerswyck, each in the amount of ten hundred 
guilders. Witness our hands, this 1 6th of July 1 649. Including 
herein Margariet Willems. . 

Was signed: Abram Staas 

Jacob Jansz Stoll 

Tys Pietersz is ordered to repair within the space of twenty- 
four hours after the service of this notice to the house of the 
honorable director, to receive there instructions with whom he 
is to stay according to his contract, under the penalty of six 
guilders for the first failure to comply with this order, and in 
case he refuses, he shall be forced thereto by writ of execution. 

Order is also issued to Broer Cornelis to refrain from lodging 
or harboring him. 

This 3 1 St day of July 1 649, Jacob Jansz van Stoutenburch 
having been summoned under a writ of attachment to appear on 
the 2d of August of the same year to acknowledge or repudiate 
his mark affixeid to the lease, dated May 5, 1649, and the 
appraisal of the goods on the Vlackte, amounting to fl. 1426, 
and whether he did not accept the aforesaid goods according to 



88 Colony of RensselaersTv^d^ 

the specification thereof in the presence of the director, Domine 
Megapolensis and other witnesses, he is asked to give security 
for one year's rent and the amount of the appraisal, or else to 
enter into custody. 

Jacob Jansz acknowledges his signature to the deed and that 
he took over the aforementioned goods according to the appraisal. 

[38] The director of the colony of Rensselaerswyck being 
bound under the contract with Claes Segeresz to deliver to him, 
at the commencement of his lease, the land of his farm in condi- 
tion to be cultivated by him and finding thereon ten nwrgens 
seeded with winter wheat, Claes Segersz shall next winter make 
compensation for the seed grain and the labor and expense which 
have gone into it, and at the end of his lease leave the stubble on 
the land, according to the contract. Done in the colony of Rens- 
selaerswyck, primo August Anno 1 649, 

Was signed B : v : Slichtenhorst 

A: de Hooges, witness 

July 16, Director Slichtenhorst served notice on Jacob Jansz 
Hap, and August 2, 1 649, on Sander Leendertsz, Frerick Lub- 
bertsz, Cornelis Jahsz, Harmen Dousz, skippers, not to take any 
colonists with them to the Manhatans or out of the colony with- 
out his, Slichtenhorst's, consent. The 6th ditto the same notice 
was served on Aryaen Bloemert and Jan de Caper. 

August 10, 1649, CorneHs Segersz summoned by Slichten- 
horst on the part of Gysbert [Adriaensz] to appear on the 12th 
ditto. 

1 1 ditto 1 649. Willem Juriaensz being summoned to appear 
because he accused Jacob Jansz Stol in public of being a whore- 
monger and Stol's [wife] of being a whore, which led to a fight, 
the plaintiff demands that the defendant be condemned to pay a 
double fine; cum expensis. 



Court Minutes, 1648-1652 89 

[38v] The honorable officer, plaintiff, against Cornelis 
Segersz, defendant. 

Cornelis Segersz being summoned to appear on the 1 2th ditto, 
being an extraordinary court day, to answer the complaints made 
to the officer by Gysbert Adriaensz and his brother, because the 
defendant, last Sunday, without any reason, much less excuse, 
suddenly struck Gysbert in the face with a glass and severely 
wounded him, not only cutting a deep gash, but also severing 
some arteries, which is lethal;^ and whereas the defendant here- 
tofore has more than once, both by word and deed, committed 
such outrages and is in the highest degree punishable; therefore, 
the plaintiff demands that he be condemned to pay double the 
fine of 300 guilders, in accordance with the ordinance of Ams- 
terdam or the Manhatans, and that in addition he be arbitrarily 
punished as an example to others. Also that the defendant fur- 
thermore be condenmed, in accordance with the complaint, to 
pay the costs of the extraordinary session of the court, all cum 
expensis. 

Whereas Cornelis Segersz on August 1 , 1 648, ventured in 
the presence of Arent Andriesz, Poulus Noorman and the serv- 
ant of the aforesaid Arent to accuse Jan Baerentsz Poest in pub- 
lic of being a rascal and the biggest Har in the colony and agreed 
to prove it by several witnesses, and upon examination in court 
by Officer Slichtenhorst repeated the assertion and on the 3d of 
the same month, being again questioned in court, was obliged to 
retract his statements and deny his accusations; and whereas the 
defendant in a similar way defamed the person of Councilor 
Vos, as shown by the minutes of the court of October 8, 1848; 
therefore, the plaintiff demands that the defendant be condemned 
to pay for each offense the sum of fl. [25?], two thirds to go to 
the poor and one third to the plaintiff, all cum expensis. 



' /tt'e/c^ letael is. 



90 Colony of Rensselaerswyck 

[39] Extraordinary session on account of vacation 
August 1 2 Anno 1 649 

Cornelis Segersz asks for a copy of the complaint/ 

[The court] having seen the signature subsequently added on 
the same paper to the lease of the other farms, which signature 
Cornelis Segersz before us acknowledges to be his and whereby 
he binds himself under the aforesaid contract, he is hereby 
ordered to observe the same and especially to have the buildings 
on the farms rented by him appraised by neutral carpenters, in 
accordance with the aforesaid contract, for which one carpenter 
shall be chosen by each party, that is, one on the part of the 
patroon and one on the part of Cornelis Segersz, And in case 
Cornelis Segersz should oppose this and act contrary to his own 
signature subscribed in the first place, he shall be liable to pay 
the loss which the patroon shall suffer thereby, the court to pro- 
ceed further against him according to law. 

The honorable director, plaintiff, against Willem Jeuriaensz, 
defendant. First default. 

August 12, 1649. Cornelis Segersz summoned for the sec- 
ond time to appear this day week, being, the 1 9th of this month. 

Court proceedings, September 2 Anno 1 649 

[Christoff]el Davits, plaintiff, against Thomas [Fairfax], 
Englishman, defendant. 

[ ] being asked for the second time 

[ ] in the presence of [ ] 

[ ]. 

[39v] Court proceedings, September 9 Anno 1 649 

Cornelis Segersz is granted a lot in the byieemvoordnge (ham- 
let), near the first kill, on the sam.e terms as other free men, com- 
mencing next Easter. 

^ In the margin is written : Corn. Segersz being cited by the honorable 
director and asked in court whether he would not allow the houses and 
the land to be appraised, he said. No, and the buildings should not be 
appraised as high as the amount they had actually cost. Whereupon it 
was ordered as shown [in the record]. 



Court Minutes, 1 648-1 652 91 

[In the margin is written:] Canceled December 30, 1650. 
Likewise, Abraham Staas. 

Andries de Vos becomes surety for [the satisfaction of the 
judgment in] the action [for the recovery of the loss] of the horse 
entrusted to Christoffel Davits, which was drowned. 

Whereas Thomas . . .,^ the Englishman, requested that 
Christoffel Davis should furnish surety for the satisfaction of the 
judgment (as he has done), on condition that he also would 
furnish surety (as he promised to do), and now, appearing, pro- 
duces none, it is ordered hereby that on account of the aforesaid 
contumacy he shall be taken into custody by the honorable 
director and his goods placed in safe-keeping. Cum expensis. 

Whereas Tomes . . .,^ the Englishman, has fled from the 
colony to the fort (Director Slichtenhorst having made efforts to 
carry out the above order on the date above written, but he 
having run away and escaped into the aforesaid fort, the afore- 
said director on the 13th instant and again on the 1 4th called 
on Mons. Laberte,^ as the person in command of the said fort, 
and requested the aforesaid Labete to arrest said Tomes's per- 
son and attach his goods in order to carry out the aforesaid 
order of the honorable court, and handed him the judgment to 
comply therewith in all its parts, according to the order of Mr 
Stu[v]esandt, which he agreed to do in the presence of said 
Slichtenhorst and Tomes himself. 

[40] Copy 

This day, the 3d of June 1649, Adriaen vander Donck and 
Jan Louwerensz Appel, having been requested by B. v. Slichten- 
horst, director of the colony of Rensselaerswyck, of the one part, 
and Evert Pels of Statyn and Rut Jacobsz, as sureties and 
bondsmen of and in the name of Jacob Aertsz, wagoner, and 
Jacob Adriaensz, wheelwright, of the other part, [to act as 
referees] in the dispute which they, to wit, the wheelwright and 



^ Blank in the original. His name was Fairfax. 
^Jean Labatie. 



92 Colon}^ of Rensselaersrv^cf^ 

the wagoner, had with the director of this colony as plaintiff on 
account of certain offenses committed by them, and the matter 
having by both sides been placed completely and entirely into 
the hands of the aforesaid Adriaen vander Donck and Jan 
Louwerensz Appel, they have in all conscience and after a care- 
ful examination of all that is to be taken into account decided 
and concluded that inasmuch as their offenses are inexcusable 
each of the persons shall for himself pay to the plaintiff the here- 
inafter specified fines, to vAt: fl. 50 — , that is to say, the 
wagoner fifty guilders and the wheelwright fifty guilders, each. 
Also, for expenses, each shall pay : 

to the plaintiff fl. 8— 

to the secretaiy 8- 

to Hans Vos 7— 

All of which we consider to be right and proper. Further- 
more, in the interest of the administration of justice, by way of 
honorable amends, the delinquents shall appear in court and 
there acknowledge that they have done wrong and have fallen 
into error through ignorance and drunkeness, praying the court 
to forgive them. 

Thus done and concluded in the colony of Rensselaerswyck, 
on the date above written, and in, witness of the truth subscribed 
with our usual signatures. Was signed : Adriaen vander Donk, 
Jan Louwrensz Appel. 

Agrees with the original. 

Which I certify, 

A: DE HooGES, Secretary 

A copy hereof shall be delivered to each without charge. 

[40v] Copy 

This day, the 4th of June 1 649, we, Adryaen vander Donck 
and Jan Louwersen Appel, have been requested by B. v. 
Slichtenhorst, director of the colony of Rensselaersv^ck, of the 



Court Minutes, 1648-1652 93 

one part, and Evert Pels of Statyn/ of the other part, to settle 
a certain question at issue' between them in the court, said matter 
at issue being completely and fully, just as it stands, placed into 
our hands and absolutely referred to us, the aforesaid Adriaen 
vander Donck and Jan Louwerensz Appel; whereupon, after 
mutual examination and consideration of the same, we have 
found and decided as follows : 

First, in regard to Claes Tyssen, Evert Pels shall restore to 
the honorable director within the space of eight days the 26 
guilders which the director paid to Claes Tyssen and for the 
loan of the money pay to the director the sum of fl. 1-16. 
Furthermore, for the notice served on Klaes Tyssen, his servant. 
Evert Pels shall for certain reasons pay to the honorable director 

the sum of fl- 4 

For summons served there by the director .... fl. 3 — 4 

To de Hoogens, for writing fl. 2 -10 

To Hans Vos for citation fl. 1—16 

Thus done and ratified by us as regards the matter of Claes 
Tyssen. 

As to the matter of Tomes Jansz it is decided that Evert Pels 
shall pay to the Hon. Director B. v. Slichtenhorst the sum of 
ten guilders, once, for costs and expenses. Finally, Evert Pels 
shall pay to the officer, once for all, the sum of fl. 10, on con- 
dition that the director shall not trouble said Pels or his people 
any more, provided Evert Pels pays as above written within th 
space of eight days. Thus done to the best of our knowledge 
and decision in the colony of Rensselaerswyck, on the date above 
written. And was signed: Adryaen vander Donck, Jan 
Louwerensz Appel. 

I certify that the foregoing agrees with the original 

A: DE HoOGES, Secretary 

[41] This day, Tuesday, September 21 Anno 1649, Jan 
Dircksz van Bremen complains to the honorable director about an 

^ Stettin, Germany. 



94 Colon}) of Rensselaerstvy^cJi 

assault committed upon him on the public road near the house 
of Willem Teyller by Dirck Hendricksz from Hilversom and 
requests that justice be done in the matter. 

The plaintiff was cut with a knife from the right to the left 
side of his lower lip, from the upper corner down to his chin, so 
that the right side [of his lip] hangs down loose. 

He says that to the best of his knowledge the Croat ^ stabbed 
him with a knife through his sleeve, from the side, and that on 
his turning around Dirck gave him the cut. That thereafter the 
Croat and Aert Aertsz attacked each other with knives and that 
subsequently Dirck aforesaid wounded said Aert. 

[In the margin] This day, November 29 Anno \649, Aert 
Aertsz acknowledges and confirms this declaration which was 
sworn to. 

Quod attestor. A: DE HoOGES, Secretary 

Information taken by the director from the 
mouth of Franz Jacobsz, bachelor, about 
1 7 years old 

Declares that Claes Andriesz from Hilversom, about mid- 
night, between the 20th and 2 1 st of October 1 649, lay sleeping 
in the Greenen Bos, down on the river bank, before the house 
where Evert Pels lives, and that Jacob Lambertsz two or three 
times in succession rolled down from the upper part of the bank 
over the body of Claes aforesaid, who, being awakened thereby 
and angry, struck said Jacob on the head, first with his fist and 
then with a stone, in such a way that Jacob fell. Getting up 
again, Jacob ran up the bank and got a knife with which he 
approached Claes, saying, after he had sharpened the knife a 
couple of times on the ground. Now stand your man! Where- 
upon Claes, seeing this, came up the height and struck Jacob, 
who cut Claes several times across the body with the back of the 
knife ... 

[Note in the margin:] [Clae]s says that . . . de 
Goojer . . . the presence . . . has . 



^ Abraham Stevensz. 



Court Minutes, 1 648-1652 95 

[41 v] November 12. Cornelis Segersz, or Claesen, has on 
kis own authority slaughtered an old cow, for which he is sum- 
moned to appear on Thursday next. 

Extraordinary session, the 15th day of November Anno 1649 

In consideration of the high prices of foodstuffs and all that 
appertains thereto and consequently of all commodities, as is 
daily shown, Mons"^- Arent van Curler is granted six guilders a 
week for board of the mechanics who do any building or other 
work at the patroon's expense on the farm called '' de Vlackte," 
the same being hereby also granted to all others who furnish any 
board at the proper expense of the patroon. 

Court proceedings, November 18 Anno 1649 

Copy 

The Honorable Slichtenhorst, director of the colony of Rens- 
selaerswyck, will please issue an attachment against Willem 
Menten on the Vlackte for the sum of two hundred and twenty- 
eight guilders, thirteen stivers (fl. 228-13-). 

Actum, October 18, 1649. Was signed: Adriaen Jansz van 
Leyden. 

Agrees with the original, 

A: DE HoOGES, Secretary 

Attached and cited on the above mentioned court daj^ by 
Director Slichtenhorst. 

[42] Date as above 

Evert Pels and Willem Fredericksz summoned by Director 
Slichtenhorst in regard to the rent for the farm formerly occupied 
by Cryn Cornelisz and the mill formerly used by Jacob Plodder, 
for which he is to give security according to the contract of the 
farm and the mills. 

Willem Fredericksz, appearing, acknowledges that he leased 



96 Colony of Rensselaerstvycl^ 

the farm for fl, 400 in addition to the tithes and the toepacht ^ 
and the mills together for fl. 1 25 a year. Furthermore, as to the 
wheat of Pieter Teunisz, that they received this at fl. 55 the 
morgen,^ no more morgens, no more pay. Evert Pels, first 
default. 

Adriaen Jansz, plaintiff against Willem Mynten, asks suffi- 
cient security for [vacating] the attachment. Willem Menten, 
first default. 

Cornelis Segersz. First default. 

Upon the petition of the honorable director in the matter of 
Michiel Jansz, it is appointed that the former judgment shall be 
enforced and he is ordered once more to bring in his account 
accompanied by vouchers properly signed by sureties, in [the 
beginning?] of April Anno 1650, or sooner, under penalty 
[of final judgment] by default. 

Notice was served on Toenis Dircksz the 22d of November 

1 649. 

[ ] November 1649 . . . [Remainder of page 

destroyed. ] 

[42v] Court proceedings, December 2 Anno 1649 

Willem Menteri admits that he owes Jan Lourisz the sum of 
228 guilders. 

Baerent Pietersz summoned by the director. 

Ordered that each one shall mark his bags and that Baerent 
Piertersz shall despatch each one's business as soon as possible, 
in order that no more complaints may be heard. 

December 8. Juriaen Westval and Jochem Ketelheym sum- 
moned to appear on the 1 6th of this month. December 1 6, first 
default. 

9 ditto. Evert Pels and Willem Fredericksz summoned like- 
wise. December 1 6, first default. 



^ Something in the nature of a quitrent, generally paid in kind, to which 
Director van Slichtenhorst was entitled. See Van Rensselaer Botvier 
Mss, p. 762. 

^ 1 morgen =i 2 acres. 



Court Minutes, 1648-1652 97 

9 [ditto]. Beernt, the miller,^ summoned likewise. Decem- 
ber 16, first default. 



December 13 Anno 1649 

Gerrit van Wencom declares that a certain Mahican, whom 
he [found] at [ Aer] t Jacobsz's, at Bethlehem, on Wednesday, 
the 8th of December 1649, [said Indian] being quite drunk 
with anise water, assaulted and fell upon him in cold blood and 
almost strangled him, in such a way that his head was extremely 
swollen, but that he was accidently released by another Indian. 

Aertsz and Hans Vos declare 

last week. . . [Remainder of page destroyed]. 

[43] They declare also that the strong liquor was sold to the 
Indians by Aert Jacobsz by wooden bowlfuls and tapped to 
them in large quantities, the wine being mixed with water, but 
that Aert aforesaid was unwilling to tap to any one, among others 
to Gerrit van Wencom, who did not have ready money, saying 
that he would have nothing to do with that, not even in case of 
the director, so that Aert Jacobsz came back empty handed. 
And that Aert Jacobsz said that for a gill of wine (mixed half 
and half with water), he could get eight stivers from the Indians. 

The aforesaid deponents have confirmed and corroborated the 
foregoing by the clasping of hands with the director, instead of 
by oath. 

Cluod attestor, 

A: DE HoOGES, Secretary 

This day, the 1 4th of December Anno 1 649, the director and 
commissioners have sold to Ruth Jacobsz a black stallion of 10 
years and a bay gelding of 8 years, both for fl. 225, and for 
pasturing each horse [he is to pay] yearly fl. 8. 



^ Barent Pietersz Coeymans, referred to above. 

4 



98 Colon]) of Rensselaerstv^cJ^ 

Court proceedings, December 16 Anno 1649 

Willem Teyller declares that Thomas Chambers on the 21st 
day of November 1 649, on the bridge of the [fort] , being drunk, 
committed assault . . . [Remainder of page destroyed]. 

[43v] Extraordinary session, December 1 7 Anno 1 649 

Jacob Hevick, appearing this day before the court upon the 
[summons] of the director, in regard to some boards of the 
honorable patroon which were missing and which the director 
informs us for certain he saw at his house, admits here that some 
time ago and again to-day he offered to settle for them with the 
aforesaid director. 

The commissioners, basing their action on the ground of the 
aforesaid offer of settlement, which no innocent person would 
have made, upon the director's proposal order in the first place 
his arrest and, secondly, that proceedings be taken against him 
according to law, all with costs. 

Extraordinary session, December 18 Anno 1649 

Examination of Jacob Hevick 
Jacob is asked what has be- Answer: They are lying in 

come of the old boards which the yard, 
a short time ago were lying 
near his house and which now 
are gone? 

Is asked whether he carted Answer: He carried them 

or carried them away? away. 

Is asked: [By day or] by Answers: [Remainder of 

night? page destroyed]. 

[44] Is asked where he Answers: 2 from Crynen 

obtained the 16 new. boards 2 from Casteels 

lying near his house? island 

12 from the Mill 
Kill 



Court Minutes, 1648-1652 99 

Is asked what he paid for Answers: Nothing. 

them? 

Is asked: By day or by Answers: By night, 

night, namely from the Mill 
Kill? 

Question: In what manner? Answers: With a canoe. 

Is asked: From where? Answers: From the strand, 

where the other boards are 
lying. 

Is asked who helped him? Answers: He did it alone. 

December [22] 1649, Rut Jacobsz has taken the oath as 
member of the council {raeis vrundi) , the oath being admin- 
istered by the director in the presence of the commissioners. 

[44v] Extraordinary session, December 20 Anno 1649 

[Blank space] 
Mr Rutger Jacobsz took his oath as councilor on the 22d of 
December. 

Extraordinary session, December 22, 1649 

Two qualified arbitrators having been chosen in the matter 
of Jacob Hevick, to wit, Andries de Vos and Rutger Jacobsz, 
they have (as the result of arbitration and with the consent of 
the director according to previous conclusion) decided before the 
honorable court of this colony, in the first place, that Jacob 
Hevick shall restore the stolen property, or the value thereof, to 
the person from whom he stole it. Furthermore, that he shall 
pay to the honorable director a fine of seven guilders and two 
beavers, in addition to the costs of convening the court in extra 
session, according to the order [ ] and otherwise by 

declaration [ ] [ ] 

fifty guilders [ ] [ ] thanks the gentle- 

men for [ ] 

[Remainder of page destroyed]. 



100 Colony of RensselaersTvycJ^ 

[45] Memorandum. In the beginning of October 1649, the 
director and commissioners decided to exchange some of the 
honorable patroon's stallions for mares of Mr Arent van Curler, 
pro rata, according to the value of each, which was afterwards 
done. 

October 5, the patroon's sheep were sold to Mr Stuyvesant, 
for the reason that the wolves daily destroyed many of them and 
this bait also resulted in the loss of some calves. 

About the same date, the director and commissioners, on the 
earnest presentation of Mr Stuyvesant, presented a mare, on 
condition of receiving in return at the first opportunity a Curagao 
mare, the first foal of which, or the value thereof, is promised to 
his son. 

September 22, a stallion was sold to Andries de Vos for 
fl. 50. This stallion had an accident happen to its scrotum 
whereby it lost much blood, not without danger to its life, for 
which reason it was sold at so low a price. 

Court proceedings, December 30, 1 649 

Evert Pels acknowledges his signature to the contract of the 
farm formerly occupied by him and agrees to render his account 
within 14 days. 

[ ] security for the farm . . . [remainder 

of the page destroyed] . 

[45v] Copy 

Aert Jacobsz: Deliver to Jan Reyersz, the bearer hereof, 
the extra heifer which you have. It will be accounted to you for 
good delivery and be deducted from the number [of animals] in 
your possession. In the colony of Rensselaerswyck, this 27th of 
December Anno 1649. And was signed: B. v. Slichtenhorst. 
Lower was written: 

Aert Jacobsz is ordered once more to deliver the said heifer 
to the aforesaid person, under penalty of forfeiture of three 



Court Minutes, 1 648-1 652 101 

guilders for each day's delay after sight hereof. R-Wyck, the 
30th of December 1649. And was signed: A. de Hoogens, by 
order as above. 

Certified by me, as director, 

B. V. Slichtenhorst 

[Note in the margin:] 

Picket ^ declares in the presence of the director, Mr Hoogens 
and Mons^ Verbrugge and in his house that Aert Jacobsz and 
his wife said to him and Jan Reyersz, when lately they went to 
get the aforesaid heifer and after they had first shown the order 
from the director and the commissioners, that they did not care 
a rap for a such a little note and, furthermore, that when Picket 
wanted to untie the aforesaid animal and could not undo the 
rope, the wife of the said [Aert] forcibly prevented him from 
using his knife and grabbed the knife with which Picket intended 
to cut loose the animal. 

1650, January 10. Abraham, otherwise called Crowaet, 
summoned to appear on the 13th of this month. 

The 1 1 th ditto, the director arrested Jacob van Schermerhoorn 
in the colony on account of assault committed upon him in his 
own or the patroon's jurisdiction and summoned him to appear 
on the 13th of January. First default. 

The 1 1 th ditto, Cornelis Segersz was likewise summoned by 
the director to appear on the 13th, on account of an assault com- 
mitted upon him. First default. 

The 1 3th ditto, Hans in Cluys ^ was summoned to appear on 
the 20th of January to make payment and to state whether he 
stands by what he said ito the wagoner ^ in the presence in the 
presence of Tomas Koeninck's wife and others. First default. 

The 13th ditto. Van Es summoned again to appear on the 
next court day, to wit, the 20th, and forbidden to tap according 
to the ordinance and the ordinance read to him in the presence 



^Michel Picquet. 

^ Hans Jansz, from Rotterdam, also called Eencluys. 

^ Aert Jacobsz. 



102 Colon}) of Rensselaersrv^ck 

of Messrs Rut Jacobsz and Goesen Gerritsz, and he promises to 
appear in 14 days. 

The 1 4th, Abraham Crowaet summoned the second time, the 
notice being served on [Louwerns Jansz?] in whose house he 
lives. 

Louwerens also summoned to appear on the [ ] ditto, to 

give testimony [ ] having tapped 

wines [ ] 

Tomes Compeer,^ to whom notice was served there as above. 

Baernt, the miller,^ [ ] 

[Remainder of page destroyed]. 
[46] Copy 

Any one desiring to lease [one of] the following places is to 
repair two weeks from next Monday, being the 3 1 st of January 
1650, to the house of Gysbert Cornelisz, tavernkeeper, [where] 
on such terms as shall then be read [will be offered] : 

Casteels island, as a whole, heretofore used by Cornelis 
Segersz. 

Also, the farm of Jan van Bremen, and about six morgens of 
land used by Cristoffel Davits and Cryn Cornelisz. 

Also, two millstones, to be sold to the highest bidder 

Pass it along! 

Copy , 

Annual notice is given hereby that no one who is in arrears to 
the i^atroon as to rent shall undertake to remove any grain, or 
boards, or other effects, or in the spring send them away in any 
vessels, under penalty of forfeiting the grain or effects thus sent 
away and of paying in addition a fine of twenty-live guilders. 
Neither shall any skipper knowingly venture to transport any 
such goods, under the penalty above mentioned, nor transport 
any such persons under the penalty provided by the ordinance by 
the Hon. General Peter Stuyvesant. 

May every one guard himself against loss. 



'^ Thomas Higgins. 

" Barent Pietersz Coeymans. 



Court Minutes, / 648-1 652 



103 



January [ ] Aernt at Betelhem [Bethlehem] to pay 

[ ] rent, as well as the rent for the year 1649 . . . 

[Remainder of the page destroyed]. 

[46v] Interrogatories on which is to be 
examined under oath Stintgen Peters, the 
wife of Louwerens Jansz, living on the farm 
of Aryaen Huybertsz 

Declares : About 40 years. 



First, her age. 

1 Whether she, the witness, 
on New Year's eve, did not 
have some people in her house, 
to wit, Baernt, the miller, and 
his brother, Lucas, Abraham, 
otherwise called Craewaet, 
Tomes Compeer, Englishman, 
Peter de Goyer, and Tuenis, 
the servant? 

2 Ayhether in the fore part 
of the night, at about 2 o'clock 
in the morning, there were not 
two shots fired before her 
door? 

3 Also, which persons did 
the firing? . 

4 Whether, at the aforesaid 
firing Hans Vos did not come 
to her house, as one could not 
tell what it meant, whether it 
was done by friend or enemy? 

5 Whether Baernt, the miller, 
and his brother did not try to 
hit Hans Vos, who was sent 
there by order of the director 
and whether Aryaen Huy- 
bertsz and the wife of the said 



A 



nswers : 



Y 



es; 



Says, she heard it, but was 
in the barn to milk the cows. 



Says, that she does not know 
exactly. 

Answers as [stated] in the 
question. 



Says, that she was 
already in bed. 



th 



en 



104 



Colon}) of Rensselaersrv})c}( 



Baernt did not try to prevent 
it? 

6 Whether Beernt and his 
brother tore Hans Vos's bald- 
ric from his body and to 
pieces? 

Also, whether Beernt, after 
the witness had gone to bed, 
did not get [six] sausages from 
the garret, that the same fell 
so that she, the wit- 
ness, ran out of her bed and 
[recovered] some pieces of the 
six sausages [and pulled] an- 
other piece out of Beernt's 
[hand] ? 



An 



swers as a 



bove. 



Answers in accordance with 
the question. 



[47] Court proceedings, January 20 Anno 1650 . 

As to the affairs of Jacob Hevick, as something, or so much 
as shall appear to the honorable patroon by lawful account, is 
due him from th^ patroon, the amount thereof, subject to the 
patroon's decision, is for the present deducted from his debt. 

Abraham Stevensz admits that on New Year's eve, 1 650, he 
fired twice at the house of Adr[i]aen Huybertsz. 

January 29, 1 650 

Teunis Cornelisz acknowledges that he surrendered his lease 
of the farm to the director on January 27, 1650, which the 
director accepted on condition that he must pay [what he owed] . 

Teunis Cornelisz answers that another house was promised 
him and that the present one is not habitable on account of the 
smoke, which sometimes makes it necessary for him to lead his 
wife outdoors, and that he gave it up on that account. 

The director answers that Steven Jansz called on his honor 



Court Minutes, 1648-/652 103 

and told him that the lumber was not yet all near the [house] , 
which Theunis Cornelisz admits, but he says that the building 
need not have been delayed on that account. 

[47v] Court proceedings, February 3, 1650 

Abraham Stevensz has this day leased the meadow {Valeye) 
behind the farm of Broer Cornelis for one and a half beavers a 
year, on condition that all expenses shall be borne by him, and 
this for the period of four or five years. 

February 17. 1650 

The director, for his charges in connection with the misde- 
meanor committed by Abraham Stevensz Croaet in shooting 
during the night, is granted, in accordance with his bill, forty 
guilders, once, which the said director is to levy by execution. 

Hans Vos is granted by the court the sum of one hundred 
guilders for his supervision during the past year at the house of 
Cornelis van Es and Pieter Claesz, for which execution may be 
had against van Es, as surety, on condition that he be given two 
weeks' notice, 

[48] Cornelis van Es and Teunis having been summoned to 
appear on the date above written, the first default is entered 
against them. 

Hans Vos is granted by the court the sum of eight guilders for 
having in the name of the patroon, at the peril of his life, pursued 
the fugitive, Harmen vanden Bogaert, outside the limits of the 
colony.^ 

Know all men by these presents that the honorable director 
and commissioners of the colony of Rensselaerswyck of the one 
part and Tuenis Dircksz van Vechten of the other part intend to 
sell to the highest bidder the brewery in the Grenen Bosch, to 



^ See resolution of the director general and council of New Netherland 
of February 8. 1648 (A^. Y. Col Mss, 4:360). See also J. H. Innes. 
Neti) Amsterdam and its People, p. 68—71. 



106 Colon;^ of Rensselaerstvy^cJ^ 

wit, the house, caldron, vat, tubs and whatever else pertains to 
the brewery, as it shall be found on the day of sale, when the 
conditions as set forth in the inventory will be read. Those who 
are interested are to repair Monday week, being the 7th of 
March anno 1650, to the house of Gysbert Cornelisz, tavern- 
keeper, and there, having heard the conditions, to seek their 
advantage. 

Pass it along! 

February 26, 1650, Mons^ Verbrugge in the name of the 
Hon. General Peter Stuyvesant [protested against] the taking 
possession of Catskil. 

Cornelis Segersz and Aert Jacobsz of Betelhem summoned 
[ ] February 1650. 

[One or two lines destroyed]. 

[48v] Court proceedings, March 3, 1650 

Resolved that Cornelis Segersz, pursuant to the ordinances of 
May 31 and June 10, 1649, shall pay to the director for the 
benefit of the patroon, within the space of three weeks after the 
date hereof, the 200 schepels of wheat attached, or the value 
thereof in merchantable goods, under penalty of peremptory exe- 
cution, on condition that the director give security and a receipt 
therefor. 

[Nptes in the margin:] "The 200 schepels of wheat of 
Cornelis Segersz, by way of memorandum." " This judgment 
was read to him in court." 

Resolved that Cornelis Segersz's account shall be examined, 
whatever is wrong to be rejected and what is right to be accepted, 
and that the matter at issue shall then be referred to the honorable 
masters, on condition that Cornelis Segersz furnish surety for the 
payment. 

[Note in the margin:] " This was also read to him in court." 
The director, plaintiff, against Jacob Flodder, defendant. 



Court Minutes, 1 648-1 652 107 

The director demands that Jacob aforesaid, for having 
wounded Poulus, the Noorman, in the head with a tankard, be 
fined fl. 300, according to the ordinance. 

The defense of Jacob and Poulus is put over until [a week?] 
from this day. 

[49] The director, plaintiff, against Christoffel Davits, 
defendant : 

For having hit Ryck Rutgersz on the head with a post ; double 
fine; 

For having beaten his servant black and blue; same fine as 
above ; 

For having struck Jan van Bremen on the head with a 
tankard, making two wounds; fl. 300. 

Jeuriaen Bestval acknowledges his signature to the contract. 

Thomas Fairfax is ordered to furnish surety within two weeks 
from this day for the judgment in the action brought against him 
by Christoffel Davits. 

Gysbert aende Berch ^ promises within two weeks to furnish 
surety for the rent of his farm and to pay as much as possible. 

Jacob Lambertsz is warned once more to pay his fine to the 
director within the space of two weeks, or to furnish two sufficient 
sureties. 

[49v] March 2, 1650. Vos attached all the grain on the 
Hoogen Berch. 

9 ditto. All the grain on the farms of Tunis ' and Jochim ^ 
attached by Vos. 

9 ditto. Dirck de Goyer * summoned to appear on the 1 7th 
ditto. 

15 ditto. The director attached all the grain of Cornelis 
Segersz, both thrashed and unthrashed. 



^ Gysbert Cornelisz from Breuckelen, so named from the farm called 
the Berch, or the Hooge Berch (the High Hill), occupied by him. 

^Teunis Dircksz van Vechten. 

^ Jochem Kettelheym. 

* Dirck Hendricksz, from Hilversum, in the Gooi, province of North 
Holland. 



108 Colony of RensselaersTV^cJi 

Court proceedings, March 1 7 Anno 1 650 

Those who hold under a lease any property of the patroon, 
whether farms, mills, or other [property from which they receive] 
emoluments, must sign the lease within the space of three weeks 
after the notice is served, on pain of being deprived of the lease. 

All those who heretofore have held any property in common 
with the patroon and afterwards have kept the farm implements, 
household effects and other property for their private use, con- 
trary to all law, are ordered hereby to deliver a correct inventory 
thereof within two weeks from the date of service of the notice 
and to confirm the same by oath, after which both sides shall 
choose impartial persons to make an appraisal. 

[In the margin is written:] March 21, 1650, notice was 
served on Toenis Dircksz and Broer Cornelis. 

Jan Reyersz offers himself as surety for Ryck Rutgersz for the 
fulfilment of his contract in all its parts. 

[50] The director is granted permission and hereby urged to 
arrest de facto and take into bodily custody one Dirck de Goojer, 
the court being ready to hear the director's complaint against him. 
Likewise, Claes ^ and Jacob Lambertsz, his comrades. 

This day, Mr Carel van Bruggen, assisted by Pieter Prins 
and Jan Labatie, as witnesses, has delivered to the director a 
protest against claiming title to Catskil. 

Jacob Flodder says here [in court] that Poulus called him a 
rascal, for which he is fined by the director. 

Claes Segersz and Jeuriaen Bestval offer themselves as sureties 
for the payment of three years' rent by Gysbert Cornelisz aende 
Berch and confirm this by the clasping of hands. 

Jacob Flodder denies that the director saw him drinking at 
the house of Gysbert Cornelisz, tavernkeeper, on Sunday morn- 
ing, December [13?] 1648. 

The director, Jacob Flodder and Poulus, the Noorman, sub- 
mit their differences for final decision to the commissioners and 
councilors of this colony. 

^ Claes Andriesz. 



Court Minutes, 1 648-/ 652 109 

Ryck Rutgersz acknowledges that he sold to Jacob Flodder 
the lumber which is ready for the house or barn. 

[50v] Extraordinary session, Friday, March 18, 1650 

Personal confession of Claes Andriesz of Hilversom 

He admits that on July 1 6, 1 649, he struck at Hendrick 
Driesz ^ with a knife. 

He denies " that on September 20, 1 649, he drew a sheath 
instead of a knife across the director's body. 

He denies that Steven Jansz shut the door in his face. 

He admits that he treated the director insolently on the public 
road between Thomas Jansz's and Gysbert's and asked the 
director what induced him to summon him, but says that the 
director asked him first why he had not appeared. 

He denies that he challenged his master, Jan Baerentsz, but 
admits the challenged Steven Jansz once, but did not draw a 
knife. 

He denies that on September 20, 1649, he ran after Jan van 
Bremen. 

He admits that on January 31,1 650, he struck Gysbert aende 
Berch on the forehead. 

He admits that he asked Steven Jansz whether he had been 
yet to the director's, whereupon Steven replied. Yes, and he then 
said that he [the director] might speak to him about it if he chose. 

He denies having challenged Steven Jansz with a knife on 
February 20, 1650. 

[In the margin is written:] March 26, 1650, he begged for- 
giveness on his knees. 

[51] Confession of Dirck Hendricksz of Hilversom 
He admits that on July 1 2, 1 649, he unhitched one of the 
patroon's horses which was tied near the patroon's house and 



^ Hendrick Andriesz, from Doesburch. 

^bekent (admits) is changed to ontl(ent (denies). 



1 1 Colony of Rensselaersrvyck 

rode it into the Casteels island creek, with the result that the 
horse was drowned under him. 

He denies having slandered the director on December 19, 
1 649. [ In the margin is written : ] Hans Vos testifies that he did. 

He denies having practically prevented Jan van Bremen 
before the door of the barn of Evert Pels from taking a horse 
out of the barn. 

He acknowledges having entered into a contract with the 
patroon and also that on his own authority he left the service. 

He says that Adriaen Huybertsz on Shrove-Tuesday invited 
him to his house out of friendship and that he did not seek 

trouble. ''^ '^'M 

He denies that Thomas Chamber struck him or that they 

grappled with each other. 

He admits that on September 20, 1 649, he ran after Jan van 

Bremen and Aert Otterspoor and cut said Jan Dircksz with a 

knife. 

Dirck declares that Jacob Lambertsz took Claes Andriesz, 

who lay sleeping on the river banck near the house of Evert Pels, 

by the arm and rolled with him down the bank, whereupon Claes 

struck said Jacob with a stone and that thereupon Jacob went to 

get his knife and wounded said Claes. 

[51v] Extraordinary session, March 19 Anno 1650 

Gysbert Cornelisz, tavernkeeper, and Pieter Prins declare 
that the savages, who some time ago made the disturbance before 
the patroon's house, had come over drunk from the other side. 

Extraordinary session, March 21 Anno 1650 

Dirck Hendricksz declares that Croaet, last fair day,^ held a 
knife in his hand while grappling with Aert Aertsz. He says 
that Jan van Bremen and Aert did him no harm at the time. 



^ kermis; generally referring to the Amsterdam fair, which according 
to New York Colonial Mss, 1:268, came in 1641 on September 22. 
In this case, however, according to the minutes, September 21, 1 649, 



Court Minutes, 1648-1652 1 1 1 

Extraordinary session, March 22 Anno 1650 

Andries Herberts offers himself as surety for Thomas Fairfax 
in the action brought against him on account of the horse that 
was drowned. 

CorneHs Teunisz van Westbroeck binds himself as surety for 
Jacob Lambertsz, to wit, in the sum of fl. 83, due of old, which 
he promises to pay within three weeks. 

Goossen Gerritsz binds himself as surety for Jacob Lambertsz, 
to wit, in fl. 150, the amount determined upon by composition. 

[52] Croaet says that Jan van Bremen and Aert Otterspoor 
last fair day did him no harm. Croaet admits having drawn a 
knife on Aerl' but says that Aert drew his knife first. 

Upon the director's request that Croaet [be ordered to] give 
bail, consent is given, on condition that Jan van Bremen and Aert 
likewise give bail. 

Extraordinary session, March 25 Anno 1 650 

The case of Claes for definite reasons adjourned until 
to-morrow, in order with God's help to dispose of it if possible.^ 

[52v] Extraordinary session, March 26 Anno 1650^ 

In the matter of several serious misdemeanors of Claes 
Andriesz from Hilversum. 

On the very urgent prayer of his master, Jan Baerentsz 



is intended. It would be interesting to know whether as early as 1 649 
a fair was actually held in the colony. It may in this connection be 
observed that an act passed on November 11, 1 692, provided " that 
there be held and kept in the City and County of Albany, two Ifairs 
yearly the first ffair to be kept at Albany and to Commence the third 
Tuesday of July and to end on the fryday then next following being in 
all four days inclusive and no longer and the second fair to be held at 
Crawler [Craloo] in Renselaer Wyck on the third Tuesday in October, 
and to end on the ffryday following being in all four dayes inclusive and 
no Longer." Colonial Laws of Nen> York, 1 :298. See also ordinance 
of March 10, 1648, in Laws and Ordinances of New Netherland, 
p. 89. 

^ In the margin is written: March, summoned late." The rest of the 
page is blank. 

^Also printed in Van Rensselaer Bowier Mss, p. 731-32. 



1 1 2 Colon}) of Rensselaersrvy^ck 

Wemp, and his wife, and perceiving the great need of the same, 
the honorable members of this court are moved to decide as 
follows, but upon the express pledge of the delinquent. 

1st. That he, Claes Andriesz, shall not enter any tavern of 
this place to drink beer, wine or distilled liquors. 

2d. That he shall promise under oath that he will faithfully 
serve his present master and master's wife, or any other master 
whom he may get in the colony, and do their work and obey 
them in everything. Also, that he will not leave their service or 
the colony before and until he has fulfilled his obligations to 
them, the director and the patroon according to his contract and 
promise and that on the Lord's day of rest he will go to hear 
God's Holy Word instead of going to the tavern and will show 
and yield all proper obedience to the public authorities. 

3d. That he shall also promise under oath that Jie will give 
no one, whether man, woman or any aged person, either by word 
or deed, the least cause for complaint which might result in 
damage of any sort; [53] and if he does, he shall be publicly 
punished for all his previous misdemeanors, though all his fines, 
costs of extraordinary sessions of the court, etc., had been paid. 

All that is hereinbefore written, Claes Andriesz aforesaid, 
without fetters, promises to perform in every respect, fully con- 
firming the same by oath in the presence of the aforesaid honor- 
able members of the Court, according to his own hand, binding 
therefor his person and property, which he now owns or here- 
after n^ay own, be it in this country, in the fatherland or else- 
where; to this end submitting himself to the honorable court and 
to all other courts and justices, without exception, all with costs. 
In witness whereof, he has signed this with his own hand in the 
colony of Rensselaerswyck, this 26th of March Anno. 1650. 

Claes Andriesz 

And Claes Andriesz has made a formal promise as above 
before this honorable court. 

Quod attestor, 

A. DE HoOGES, Secretary 



Court Minutes, 1648-1652 113 

Jan Baerentsz Wemp promises and hereby binds himself to 
pay within one month from this date one hundred guilders in 
part payment of the fines of Claes Andriesz. Dated as above. 

March 30, 1650. Cornelis Toenisz and Abraham Stevensz 
de Capiteyn ^ summoned to appear to-morrow. 

[53v] Court proceedings, March 31 Anno 1650 

Willem Jeuriaensz acknowledges his signature to his contract. 
Also, that he bought in the year 1 648 one cow and in the year 
1649 another cow from the patroon, at the prices agreed upon. 

Cornelis Teunisz van Westbroeck denies that recently and 
again on March 26, 1 650, at the leasing of the farms at the house 
of Pieter Bronck, he called Hans Vos a rascal or a thief catcher. 

Upon the petition of the honorable director: 

Passing by all other considerations, it is ordered in general 
that he shall bind himself by definite agreement to comply with 
what the honorable guardians shall ordain, binding therefor his 
property, present or future, in the possession of himself or his 
heirs, under submission to the honorable court here, or wherever 
it may please the honorable patroon or his agent. Provided that 
van Es (after a copy of everything has been handed to him) 
shall within the space of two months from this date bring in his 
account and send a remonstrance setting forth his arguments to 
the honorable guardians. 

Underneath was written : 

By order of the honorable court aforesaid, 

A. DE HoOGES, Secretary 

[54] Jan Dircksz binds the 200 guilders due him by the 
patroon and furthermore his liquid as well as not readily avail- 
able assets as security for the judgment and also for Arent 
Otterspoor. 



^Literally: Abraham Stevensz, the captain. He is in other places 

referred to as de Croaet, the Croat, and may have been a soldier in 

the army of Count Montecucculi which invaded the province of Gelder- 
land and the Gooi in 1 629. 



1 1 4 Colony of Rensselaerswy^ck 

Ruth Jacobsz offers himself as surety for the satisfaction of 
the judgment in the case of Abraham Steventz Croaet. 

Extraordinary session, April 4, 1650 

Jan van Bremen says that Willem Menten was present at the 
fight between him and Dirck Hendricksz of Hilversum. 

Judgment as to the horse drowned by Dirck Hendricksz from 
Hilversum: 

The director maintains that ChristofFel Davits is bound to 
make good the loss of the horse. 

The two commissioners {gecommitteerden) , namely, de 
Hooges and Jan van Twiller, and the two councilors (Raeden) , 
Ruth Jacobsz and Goossen Gerritsz, maintain as follows: 

That the horse was intrusted to Christoffel Davits, but that he 
lent it to one Thomas Fairfax, his servant, for his own use as well 
as, among other things (as Thomas has declared before us), to 
fetch bread for Christoffel Davits. But that, after Thomas had 
left the horse, properly hitched, in the pubHc square near the 
fort, trusting to [the safety of] the common road and the 
[vicinity of?] the patroon's house, Dirck Hendricksz, also a 
servant of said Christoffel Davits, imhitched the horse and riding 
it deliberately let it drown, and that now, being in irons, and 
being admonished about it by the director, as the guilty [ ] 

[ ] they maintain 

[remainder of the page destroyed]. 

[In the margin is written:] The director appeals from the 
judgment. Certified by me, A. de Hooges. 

[54] Antony de Hooges protests here before the conmiis- 
sioners and councilors that Director Brant van Slichtenhorst has 
to this date rendered no account to them, the commissioners, as 
required by his instructions. 

Mr Brant van Slichtenhorst states that he would doubtless 
have received something if Antony de Hooges had not snapped 
it up. 



Court Minutes, 1648-1652 115 

Aernt Aertsz van Otterspoor offers himself as surety for the 
payment by Dirck Henricksz of two hundred guilders for the 
offenses committed by him according to the judgment of the court. 
Witness my mark, the 1 4th of April 1 650. 

This is the mark made by Aernt Aerntsz 
Otterspoor X with his own hand 
in the presence of Jan van Twiller 

Extraordinary session, April 5 Anno 1650 

Dirck Hendricksz Goojer is ordered for the present to go at 
the first opportunity in the service of the patroon to Katskil, his 
case to be disposed of some time hereafter according to his 
conduct. 

[55] Court proceedings, April 28 Anno 1650 

Catalyn Donckersz ^ is ordered to compound for her offense 
with the honorable director. 

The 12th of May Anno 1650 

After the close of the sermon," the director, in the presence of 
A. de Hooges and Rutger Jacobsz, offered and proposed to 
Jacc^b Waelingen to let him have the lease of the farm of Teunis 
Cornelisz, but he declined it. Also, at first, to let him have th^ 
use of the farm of Pieter Teunisz, which he likewise declined. 

In the afternoon he agreed with Teunis Dircksz about the six 
morgens of land in the rear of the farm of the said Teunis 
Dircksz, cultivated by Teunis Cornelisz, on the following' terms : 

Teunis Dircksz shall pay to Teunis Cornelisz for the seed 
which is at present on the land fifty guilders,- and to the patroon 
for this year's rent, one hundred guilders. At the next stubble 



^The wife of Sander Leendertsz Glen. 

^ Naer hel e^ndigen vande Predicatie. May 12, 1650, came on a 
Thursday. 



116 Colony of Rensselaersrv^cJ^ 

time, the land shall revert to the patroon, to be leased as con- 
venient. And Teunis Dircksz agrees to take the land v^ithout 
any horses, cattle, or other conditions. 

[55v] May 19, 1650. Teunis Dircksz cited to appear before 
this court a week from to-day, being the 26th of this month. 

Copy ' 

To the Honorable, Valiant, Very Worshipful Mr Petro Stuy- 
vesant. Director General of New Netherland, Curasao, 
etc., and to his honor's associated Council: 

Whereas we understand from others and especially are 
informed in writing that your honors are instructed and conse- 
quently intend to oppose and prevent the settlement of Catskil, 
which was undertaken and is proceeding by order of the honor- 
able guardians, and thus come into conflict with the latest order 
of their honors aforesaid, as the accompanying copy will show, 
we are compelled to remonstrate to your honors, since two con- 
flicting matters can not be reconciled unless one give way and 
your honors must realize that it is impossible for us not to follow 
the instructions which according to our oath we are bound to 
carry into effect as far as it is possible, that such [opposition] is 
unbecoming united fellow countrymen and incompatible with the 
bond of union by which we are all joined together and that on 
the contrary we should help each other in every possible way. 
Our first request and proposal, therefore, is that your honors will 
be pleased to postpone the execution of your plans and have 
patience until by the first opportunity we are advised by our 
lords and masters how to govern ourselves. Meanwhile, we 
promise not to transport, nor to allow to be transported thither, 
any people, tools or other necessaries, until we have further 
advice, when we shall consider ourselves in duty bound to write 
again. 



^ For extracts from this remonstrance see O'Callaghan, History of NeT» 
Netherland, 2:161. 



Court Minutes, 1 648-1 652 117 

Wherewith, Honorable, Vahant, Very Worshipful Gentle- 
men, Mr Peter Stuyvesant and the Council, we commend 
you to the protection of Almighty God and send you greet- 
ings from the director and commissioners of the colony of 
Rensselaerswyck. 

Signed: B. V. Slichtenhorst 

A: DE HooGES, Commissioner 

Rensselaerswyck, June 15 Anno 1650 

[56] Court proceedings, June 23 Anno 1650 

Resolved that the fl. 1 92 which Claes Tyssen honestly earned 
on the Vlackte shall be paid to him by the director. 
Evert Pels, having been summoned, did not appear. 

Court proceedings, June 30 Anno 1 650 

The ordinance of the Honorable Stuyvesant and the Council 
of New Netherland, in regard to the regulation and change in 
value of the wampum, dated May 30, 1650,^ is approved and 
ratified by us in its entirity, so that every one is to govern himself 
accordingly. 

The honorable director, commissioners and councilors of this 
colony, having weighed and considered the contents of the ordi- 
nance concerning the depreciation of the wampum, now posted 
in Fort Orange, have for pregnant reasons ratified and hereby do 
ratify the same, so that every inhabitant of this colony is to 
govern himself accordingly and to comply with the provisions of 
the aforesaid ordinance, under the penalty provided, which shall 
be enforced by this honorable court. Let every one guard him- 
self against damage. 

Done in the colony, the 30th day of June A°. R. 5, 1650." 

A: DE HoOGES, Secretary 



^Printed in Laws and Ordinances of New Netherland, p. 115-16. 

'^ Anno Regni 5, meaning the fifth year of the reign of Johannes van 
Rensselaer, the second patroon. According to O'Callaghan, History of 
New Netherland, 1:345; 2:68, and Brodhead, History of the State 



1 1 8 Colony of Rensselaersw^cl^ 

[56v] Jan van Twiller, Gerrit Vasterick, A. de Hooges, 
Ruth Jacobsz and Goossen Gerritsz having examined the seawan 
of the patroon which was received before the depreciation of the 
seawan, find that the same must be valued at eight for one stiver 
and as the greater part of it is strung, those who take it in pay- 
ment shall receive according to the custom and the provisions of 
the ordinance. 

And whereas the seawan in the treasury before the publica- 
tion, according to the specified account thereof, amounted to the 
sum of [blank] , it is decided that the patroon shall stand the loss. 

Certified by me, 

A: DE Hooges, Secretary 

Court proceedings, July 13 Anno 1650 

Tomes Sanders, smith, residing at or about the Manhatans, 
is granted permission to move hither and to settle here with his 
family in the village (b^eenio^onmge) , to support himself by 
means of his usual trade. 

Whereas the director, commissioners and councilors are 
informed by way of rumor that Cornells Teunisz van Westbroeck 
takes the person of Jan Hagemans, free trader, and his goods 
into his house, without advising any one thereof, contrary to the 
instructions received by us, he is hereby notified and ordered to 
abstain therefrom and to send him away, under penalty of con- 
fiscation of the goods in the possession of the said Jan Hagemans. 



of New York, 1:420, Kiliaen van Rensselaer died in 1646, and the 
same year the guardians of the young patroon rendered homage to the 
States General in the name of their ward. According to the above 
date, this must have taken place before June 30, 1 646. In an entry 
in the minutes of the council of New Netherland, under date of August 
8, 1644 (New York Colonial Mss, 4:199) reference is made to "the 
heirs of Mr. Renselaer, deceased." This shows that, contrary to the 
statements heretofore made, Kiliaen van Rensselaer died, not in 1 646, 
but some time prior to August 8, I 644, possibly as early as the fall of 
1 643, when his communications to the colony ceased. Johannes van 
Rensselaer was not definitely invested with the high, middle and low 
jurisdiction of the colony until after April 7, 1650. See Resolution 
of the States General of that date in Doc. rel. to Col. Hist. N. Y., 1 :383. 



Court Minutes, 1 648-1 652 119 

[57]^ Extraordinary session, July 15, 1650 

Jan van Hoesen complains of injury done to him 'by Willem 
Jeuriaensz, as follows: 

That some days ago he called the wife of Jian van Hoesen a 
whore, with the result that from excitement she had a mis- 
carriage; also, that yesterday, being the 14th of this month, he 
repeated the insult, while the wife lay sick in bed. 

[In the margin is written:] Annetje, Constapel's wife," says 
that she heard Capiteyn ^ call her a whore when she lay already 
sick in bed. 

He, Willem Jeuriaensz, says that the neighbors told him that 
he said it. 

He declares that Willem Jeuriaensz told him that a while ago, 
to wit, on March 31,1 650, when he was last summoned and 
appeared before the court to pay for two cov/s which he had 
received, he, Willem Jeuriaensz, had a knife concealed in his 
sleeve, adding further that if the director had attempted to do 
anything to him, Willem, about the said payment, or any one 
had attacked him, he would have received a rip from him. 

Jan van Hoesen declares that Willem Jeuriaensz has often 
and repeatedly said to him and accused him of it that the contract 
between them was fraudulently drawn, said contract being signed 
by Willem Jeuriaensz and Jan Fransz van Hoesen and acknowl-^ 
edged before B. v. Slichtenhorst, A: de Hooges, J: van Twiller, 
Goossen Gerritsz and Cornelis Teunisz. 

As Johan van Twiller and Gerrit Vasterick are absent, the 
[case] aforesaid is adjourned until the 1 7th of July aforesaid at 
the usual time. 



^At the top of the page is written: noia vant bannissement, memor- 
andum of the banishment. 

^ Annetje Juriaens, the wife of Andries Herbertsz, alias Constapel. 
She was a sister of Volckje Juriaens, the wife of Jan van Hoesen. 

^ Willem Jeuriaensz, alias Capiteyn. 



120 Colony of Rensselaersrv^ck 

[57v] Extraordinary session, July 17 Anno 1650 

The honorable director requests the corporal apprehension of 
Willem Jeuriaensz on account of the aforesaid crimes. 

Annetje, the wife of Constapel, says that Volckje, when she 
had the miscarriage, said that it was caused by excitement, due 
to the abusive language of Willem Jeuriaensz, 

Aertje Cornelis, the wife of Thomas Sandersz, smith, declares 
as above. 

Willem Jeuriaensz, in contempt of the honorable court, says 
that he is a person of 21 years, whereas it is known to us that he 
is at least 70 years of age. 

The commissioners and councilors consent to the corporal 
apprehension of Willem Jeuriaensz. 

Delivered to Commissioner Johan van Twiller, for the honor- 
able guardians of the patroon, three court records corresponding 
with [and extending] up to this [record].^ 

Pursuant to the resolution of the commissioners and councilors 
and with the consent of the honorable director this court record 
is turned over to me, Antonio de Hooges, secretary of this place, 
on this date, the 1 7th of July Anno 1 650." 

[58] Extraordinary session, July 18 Anno 1650 

The honorable director, plaintiff, against WiJlem Jeuriaensz. 

Whereas Willem Jeuriaensz on account of his rascality and 
misdeeds was on two separate occasions sentenced to leave the 
colony and banished forever, to wit, in the year 1 644 and again 



^ drie Gerechts Rollen respondeerende tot op deese; apparently referr- 
ing to the court records that were kept in the colony prior to the adminis- 
tration of Bant van Slichtenhorst, which are missing. 

" This entry, taken in connection with the complaint made by de Hooges 
against Van Slichtenhorst on April 4, 1650, seems to indicate that 
Van Slichtenhorst had refused to let de Hooges have the custody of 
the record, but that at the latter's request the court directed that it be 
turned over to him. The minutes, both before and after this date, 
are in the handwriting of de Hooges, so that he must have had access 
to the record for the purpose of making his entries. 



Court Minutes, 1648-1652 121 

in September of the year 1647, which last time the delinquent 
petitioned the court to grant him a respite, pledging himself in 
said petition not to molest any one, either directly or indirectly, in 
or out of court, under penalty of forfeiting his property then in 
his possession or thereafter to be acquired and of being imme- 
diately sent out of the colony, as apears by the said petition, 
upon which petition a respite was granted in an apostil entered 
on the same, and whereas he has since pursued and more particu- 
larly now does pursue his former ways; 

And whereas, secondly, he has unjustly accused many honest 
persons of having fraudulently drawn up the contract between 
him and Jan van Hoesen, and among others has impugned the 
honor of some members of this honorable court; 

And whereas, thirdly, he has boasted that when he was sum- 
moned by the court to pay for the purchase of two cows he had 
a knife concealed in his sleeve and that if the plaintiff had laid 
hands upon him he would have cut him with it; 

And whereas, furthermore, when he was summoned to appear 
to answer for these and other crimes, I58v] ihe did openly insult 
the honorable court of this place, saying to several people: *' I 
invite you to the funeral ; I am summoned before the court and 
must hang;" and further committed other rascahties; 

Therefore, all this being taken into consideration, the plaintiff 
demands that the former sentences shall be put into effect and 
that in addition the delinquent shall be publicly exhibited on the 
scaffold for his crimes, to wit, that he shall be whipped and 
branded and that thereafter he shall be forever banished from 
the colony. Furthermore, that all his property and effects shall 
be confiscated and forfeited to the benefit of the honorable plain- 
tiff. 

[59] '^ The honorable commissioners and the council of the 
colony of Rensselaerswyck, having read the demand of the 



^Another translation of the sentence is printed in O'Callaghan, f/js/orj; 
0/ Ne-a> Netherland, 1 :437-38. 



122 Colony of Rensselaersn^yd^ 

honorable director as plaintiff against Willem Jeuriaensz, baker, 
and having duly weighed and considered all that is therein set 
forth and to be considered, and finding: 

That on account of his misdeeds he was before, on the 4th of 
February 1644, banished from the colony by the honorable^ 
court ; 

That afterv/ards, because he had attempted to stab the person 
of Antony de Hooges, then the patroon's com^s, with a knife on 
the public road and thereby, as much as in him lay, had com- 
mitted a murder, he was again banished from the colony on the 
28th of August 1 647, but on his petition granted a respite, under 
penalty of forfeiture of all property and banishment in case he 
should molest any one, whether in or out of court, or cause any 
annoyance deserving punishment; 

And finding furthermore all that is set forth in the honorable 
plaintiff's conclusion, to wit: 

That he, the delinquent, has so frightened and shocked a cer- 
tain wom.an that according to her complaint she had a mis- 
carriage; 

Secondly, that he has unjustly accused and slandered honest 
people, among them^some members of the honorable court of this 
place, in connection with the signing of the agreement between 
him [59v] and Jan van Hoesen, saying that they had drawn it 
up fraudulently ; 

Thirdly, that, having been called upon to pay for the purchase 
of two cows, he boasted on coming home that he had a knife 
concealed in his sleeve and that if he had been arrested on 
account of it, he would have paid the director with it; 

Furthermore, having been summoned to answer for these 
enormous crimes, he has openly derided the honorable court here, 
saying to several people: "I invite you to the funeral; I am 
summoned before the court; I must hang." 

Furthermore, we are assured by trustworthy people that he 
said to a certain woman who was about to partake of the Lord's 



Court Minutes, 1648-1652 123 

Supper: "If it is a piece of bread you want, come to me, I will 
give it to you." And other rascalities. 

So that he is a blasphemer, a public nuisance, a murderer, as 
far as his intention is concerned, a person who holds the court and 
justice in contempt and a disturber of the common peace. The 
honorable court, aforesaid, therefore, have sentenced [60] and 
adjudged, as they sentence and adjudge hereby, that the former 
sentences concerning the banishment shall be carried out, so that 
he, Willem Jeuriaensz is hereby banished from the district and 
jurisdiction of this colony, henceforth and forever, with order to 
depart by the first vessel and never to return, on pain of corporal 
punishment. All cum expensis. 

Thus sentenced and ratified in Collegio, this 1 8th day of July 
Anno 1650. 

To my knowledge, 

A. DE HoOGES, Secretary 

The honorable commissioners and councilors decide that Hans 
Vos shall be paid by the director according to his account. 

The honorable Goossen Gerritsz, in accordance with the 
previous promise, is by unanimous vote granted permission to 
engage in the tapping business. 

This date, skipper Reynert Pietersz from Bolswaert was in 
the presence of A. de Hooges called upon . . . [two lines 
burned off]. 

[60v] Court proceedings, July 27 Anno 1650 

Resolved that Willem Jeuriaensz shall in irons be brought on 
board the yacht of Rutger Jacobsz and then be unshackled, Rut- 
ger Jacobsz having promised to make room for him on his yacht 
[and to take him] to the Manhatans. 

The court of the colony of Rensselaerswyck are of opinion 
that Michiel Jansz with such an answer as he made on April 4, 
1 650, has not satisfied the judgment of May 29, 1 649, and the 
order of November 18 of the same year. 



124 Colon}) of Remselaerstv^cJ^ 

The aforesaid Michiel Jansz or his sureties are therefore once 
more peremptorily ordered, under penalty of having judgment 
given against them by default, to file an answer within two months 
from this date, and to support it with proper proof, and also to 
sign the two accounts which have been handed in. 

The honorable director promises Gysbert Cornelisz ^ to reduce 
his rent for two years to forty guilders on account of board of 
Johan van Twiller, provided that Johan van Twiller becomes 
surety that he will settle for it with the patroon. ^ 

[In the margin is written:] The director protests that he does 
not promise Gysbert to credit him with two years' rent [from?] 
this date, July 28, Anno 1650; also, that he demands proof of 
the charges for board. 

Jan Helms is to accept the grain of Jan van Bremen on the 
following conditions: 

He is to receive the winter grain according to appraisal, in 
connection with which it is to be noted that he, Jan Helms, shall 
be free from paying tithes. 

And Jan van Bremen shall pay the rent out of the winter grain 
and the quantity credited to him by appraisal, the amount to be 
delivered to Jan Helms to be reduced in proportion to the rent. 

[Marginal note:] This date, August 5, 1650, the wheat of 
Jan van Bremen was appraised by Aert Jacobsz and Ryck 
Rutgersz, lawfully summoned for that purpose by the director, 
at five [hundred schepels?]. 

[61 ] Adriaen Jansz from Leyden is granted permission to col- 
lect and receive his debts outstanding in the colony. 

Extraordinary session, July 28 Anno 1650 
[Blank space] 



^ Gysbert Cornelisz, the tavernkeeper. 



Court Minutes, 1648-1652 125 

Court proceedings, August 4 Anno 1650 

Willem Jeuriaensz requests to be released from confinement 
to tend to his affairs, on condition that he will comply with the 
last sentence. Granted. 

Witness my hand, 

A. DE HoOGES, Secretary 

Extract from a certain document 

The son-in-law of Megapolensis, who has been a minister here 
and who was forbidden to preach by the Classis of Alcmaer, 
goes over with the same ship. ' In case he should attempt to per- 
form any church service in the colony, we order Director Slich- 
tenhorst not to employ him thereto or to tolerate him in the 
colony, about which we shall write him personally if time will 
permit it. And Whereas we have been requested by the Deputies 
of the Classis of Amsterdam to make this known here, we hereby 
order the director and commissioners of our colony to carry out 
our instructions in this matter. 

The name of the minister is Wilhelm [Grasmeer]. 

This order was contained in a letter to [Gerrit] Vasterick, 
sent to him by Wouter van Twiller. 

[61 v] Special meeting,^ August 15 Anno 1650 

We, the undersigned, attest and declare that we have seen and 
read a certain rough note (I^ladde) written by Gerrit Vasterick, 
purporting to be an extract from a letter concerning the minister, 
Grasmeer, to prevent him from preaching. Which copy, being 
neither collated with the original, nor authenticated or signed by 
any one, was unsatisfactory to Director B. v. Slichtenhorst, who 
said that one could take no action on such a scrap of paper. 
Whereupon the director, together with de Hooges and Ruth 
Jacobsz, went to the said Vasterick's house, where the director 



^ Bu^tenl^dtsche vergaeder'mge. 



126 Colony of Rensselaersrv^ck 

asked if it was not possible to get an authentic copy? Said 
Vasterick answered that he had given a copy. The director 
rephed that it was not authentic and was not signed. Where- 
upon Vasterick made Jan van Twiller (for he, himself, lay sick 
in bed owing to some accident) get the letter. Having the letter 
in his hands, Vasterick demanded his former copy, which was 
handed to him without any suspicion, the plan being that de 
Hooges should make an extract from the letter for so far as the 
aforesaid matter was concerned. But Vasterick declined this 
and read some things from the letter, which de Hooges took 
down from his mouth. Having obtained this writing, we saw 
that we had been deceived by Vasterick's trick in demanding 
back his former copy, for it in no sense corresponded therewith. 
This much Vasterick let us see, that the letter was signed by 
Wouter van Twiller only and addressed to Vasterick alone. 
This is a true account of what took place and we offer if need 
be to confirm this on oath. Done in the colony of Rensselaers- 
wyck, on the date above written. 

B. V. Slichtenhorst, director of the said colony 

A. DE Hooges, commissioner and secretary of the said colony 
RUTGER JaCOBSZ 

[62] Hereupon their honors aforesaid and the other members 
of the court have resolved and decided as follows : 

Whereas Vasterick, according to the foregoing attestation, is 
found guilty of fraudulency in writing, so that one does not know 
which copy is correct, or whether either of the two is to be 
accepted, as neither is properly copied, or compared (for one can 
read to another anything one pleases), much less authenticated; 

And whereas, secondly, it is notorious that the disease which 
Vasterick has at present is of such a nature that he ought not to 
carry it from a whorehouse into a court of justice, this being a 
place for which such persons are unfit ; 

Therefore, their honors aforesaid, having noticed this, have 
firmly resolved not to allow him to sit on the bench until he has 



Court Minutes, 1 648-1 652 127 

purged and cleared himself of the aforesaid charges and assured 
and convinced us of the contrary. 

By order of their honors aforesaid, 

A. DE HoOGES, Secretary 

[62v] Special meeting, August 20 Anno 1650 

Whereas the case of Claes Gerritsz was to come up this day, 
we have decided and thought it advisable to leave the differences 
between the honorable director and him to the decision and award 
of two impartial men to be appointed for that purpose, provided 
that the wages which are still due him, to wit, those which he 
earned in the employ of Brant Peelen, deceased, and Broer Cor- 
nelis, and on the Vlackte, shall remain as a pledge or security for 
the award to be rendered by the aforementioned persons. 

Meeting of the inhabitants regarding the rumors of war 

concerning the Maquas, held on the 21st of September 

1650 

Information, as to what took place on the 2 1 st of September 

1650: \ 

Rem Jansz, residing in Fort Orange, declares that on the 20th 
of September 1650, it happened that a certain Tapaen savage, 
at the house of Arent Andriesz, unasked and unexpectedly said 
to him: "You Dutchmen have now been selling guns long 
enough to the Maquas, for they came to us last summer and made 
presents in order that we should help them to kill you when the 
ice was on the water. They also went to the savages to the south 
and offered them a large nootas of seawan, whereupon they 
promised to lend them the helping hand." 

Jacob Jansz Stol declares tliat the savage [63] said the same 
thing to him. 

Albert Andriesz declares likewise and they say that when 
they asked him earnestly whether it was true, he said: " Come 



128 Colony of Rensselaersrv})ck 

and take me and bind me fast and if it does not happen within 

the aforesaid time, then cut off my head." ^ 

That this happened as above stated they declare here 
before the court in the presence of several inhabitants. 

Witness my hand, 

A. DE HoOGES, Secretary 
September 8, 1 650. 

Whereas the need teaches us to adopt measures, we have 
granted permission to have the patroon's cannon, consisting of 
three pieces, to wit, a six-pounder, a five pounder and a three- 
pounder, used until further order in Fort Orange. But in order 
that the patroon may not be deprived of his property, the under- 
signed persons acknowledge that they have borrowed the afore- 
said pieces on condition that the patroon or his agent may have 
them back whenever he needs them or it may suit his pleasure. 

Jan Labatie 

This is the mark X of PlETER Jacobsz, 
set with his own hand 

[63v] September 23 Anno 1650 

The insecurity or our lives and property oppresses us contin- 
ually, living as we do under the unrestrained domination of in- 
human people and cruel heathen. And while, indeed, we had 
some intimation of this last year, it shows itself particularly at 
present through evident indications and plausible predictions and 
earnest warnings which are communicated to us, not by the afore- 
said parties, but by far distant Indians. Which being the case, 
although some think it advisable to have recourse to arms and 
resistance, and to exchange our weak position for that of their 
superior strength, their honors, the directors, commissioners and 
councilors, realizing the need, have resolvedt^and determined, for 



^ soo snijt mij de hah af. Cf. O'Callaghan, History of Neiv Nether' 
land, 2:162. 



Court Minutes, 1648-1652 129 

the welfare of the colony of our lord patroon, the preservation of 
the commonwealth and the protection of our wives and children, 
to commission and empower Mons'- Arent van Curler, Gerrit 
Wencom, Cornelis Teunisz van Breuckelen, Thomas Chamber 
and Volckert Hansz, being requested thereto, to repair with a 
present to the Maquas country, to renew the former alliance and 
bond of friendship; which they hereby willingly undertake to do. 
Done in the colony, on the date above written. 

Quod attestor, 

A. DE HOOGES, Secretary ^ 

[64] The same date, we summoned Jan Labatie, inhabitant of 
Fort Orange, to come to the house of the director and requested 
him, as he is reasonably experienced in the use of the Maquas 
language, to consent to be likewise employed as an ambassador 
to the Maquas country, whereupon he replied that he would not 
do that for anything in the world. He was asked again why, and 
whether it was not better to erribrace peace than to begin a war in 
v/hich we could not possibly survive? Labatie answered that it 
mattered little to those in the fort how it went, whether it was war 
or peace." Whereupon he left. 

[64v] Special meeting about the welfare of the colony in con- 
nection with the rumors of war with the Maquas, 
September 27 Anno 1650 
Before the meeting proceeded to business, the following took 
place : 

It has happened that the abuses of which public notice was 
given last Sunday in accordance with the ordinance were brought 
to our attention by the inhabitants here themselves. But as the 
work once commenced ought to attain its final aim and object, it 
has occurred to us that it is very necessary that the running into 



^ Another translation of this resolution is in O'Callaghan, Histor}) 
of New Netherland, 2 : 1 62-63. 

^In the margin is written: " Noia bene." 



130 Colon}) of Rensselaersw^cJf 

the woods, the delivering of notes and the sending of brokers (a 
source of much mischief, quarreHng and discord) be stopped. 
And as this can not be done properly and decently without the 
consent of the inhabitants of Fort Orange, they have therefore, 
in confirmation of their good intention and inclination, for so far 
as they are concerned, signed these with their own hands. 

[The remainder of the page is blank.] 

[65] Extraordinary session, September 30 Anno 1650 

On the above date, Jacob Waelingen was offered and tendered 
by the court the half of Casteels island, called Welys Burch,^ 
heretofore used by Adriaen vander Donck, which offer Jacob 
Waelingen has declined and refused to accept. 

Extraordinary session, primo October Anno 1 650 

Jacob Waelingen, after previous delay, insisting urgently that 
he be permitted to transport himself with his wife and children to 
the Manhatans to seek their advantage there, as they until now 
have not well been able to support themselves here, and it being 
evident that they can not be detained against their will, we have 
thought it to the best interest of the patroon to release him from 
all claims and demands and consequently have granted them per- 
inission to leave the colony and to seek their advantage wherever 
they please. 

[65v] The 2d of October, Anno 1650, in the afternoon, the 
ambassadors left. The director and Antony de Hooges at that 
time called them aside and urged them not to attempt or to do 
anything but what would tend to the benefit and welfare of the 
patroon and his colony, the peace of the inhabitants and the pro- 
motion of the common weal, which by handshake they promised 
to do. 



^ There were two farms on Castle island, one called Rensselaers Burg, 
and the other Welys Burg. See " Map of the colony of Rensselaers wyck, 
about 1632," in Van Rensselaer BoTvier Mss. 



Court Minutes, 1648-1652 131 

After delivery of the letter from the honorable gentlemen our 
superiors, the lord patroon Johan van Rensselaer and the 
co-directors Samuel Bloemaert and Johannes de Laet, this 
[record] w^as begun anew. The letter was received November 
19. 1650. 

November 24, 1650 

Jan Verbeeck, plaintiff, against Jan Dircksz, Englishman,^ 
defendant. 

It is adjudged that the defendant shall pay Jan Verbeeck the 
balance of his debt cash. 

The director, plaintiff. 



agamst 

Christoffel Davits 
Jacob Lambertsz 
Abraham Stevens 



> Default [for failing to appear in] court 



[66] Abraham Stevensz is ordered to produce witnesses by 
December 8, 1650, that he did not draw a knife on Jan 
Carstensz. 

Extraordinary session, November 28 Anno 1650 

The honorable director and commissioners [of the colony] and 
the commissary of Fort Orange, Charles van Bruggen, having 
under pressure granted permission to a certain savage named 
den U^V to erect a small house to the north of the aforesaid fort, 
which tended to become a great nuisance to the colony as well as 
to the fort, Mons*"- Labatie, to do away with [the source of] 
former troubles, has this day bought said little house of him 
and paid for it, to which consent is given by us on condition that 
a proper recognition to the honorable patroon and the co-directors 



^According to Van Rensselaer BoXvier Mss, p. 818, he came from 
Amersfoort. See also note on Jan Dircksz van Bremen, under date of 
April 30, 1 648, in this volume. 

- The Owl. 



132 Colony of RensselaersWycJi 

of this colony be paid to the director. In witness whereof this is 
subscribed as follows: 

The mark X of den U^l, named Stichtigeri, made with 
his own hand 

B. V. Slichtenhorst 

A. DE HOOGES 
Adriaen Jansz/ witness 

[66v] December 13 Anno 1650 

Steven Jansz, carpenter, upon examination by the director, 
declares that on the 12th of this month a certain company of 
persons came to his house to drink, having played golf for brandy, 
which they drank there. And that one Teunis Jansz, sailmaker, 
accused the wife of said Steven Jansz of having erased two 
strokes at the same time, although she had tapped two glasses for 
it. Whereupon one Philip, the gunstock maker," also took part 
in the dispute, wanting to have a voice in it.^ So that Gysbert 
Cornelisz, the tavernkeeper, got into a dispute with said Philip, 
saying among other things that they should not make such charges 
without being able to prove them, with the result that he, Gys- 
bert, received a wound in his left breast, but does not know how 
it happened or who did it, as three or four persons were wrestling 
together. 

[67] On the date aforesaid the honorable director attached 
the 'money in the hands of Jeuriaen Bestval which is due to 
Jochem Kettelheym, on account of a claim which the director 



^ Probably Adriaen Jansz van Ilpendam, then a schoolmaster and 
afterwards a notary public. See p. [96] . 

-Philip de Lademaecker. On page [70v] he is referred to as Philip 
Pietersz Laedemaecker, which would seem to identify him with Philip 
Pietersz Schuyler. 

^ A marginal note, to be inserted at this point, reads as follows: Which 
made the wife of Steven Jansz very angry, whereupon Philip said: 
"Have your husband come!" So that Steven Jansz, after some 
words, struck said Philip with his fist on the forehead, whereupon they 
clinched. 



Court Minutes, 1 648-1 652 133 

has against said Jochem, for which Jochem is summoned to 
appear on Thursday after New Year. [Note in the margin:] 
1 St Default. 

December 20 Anno 1650 

Jacob Adriaensz and Claes Andriesz being categorically 
questioned by the director in regard to the fight which recently 
took place at the house of Steven Jansz, carpenter, answer as 
follows : 

Claes Andriesz says that after Steven Jansz and Philip, the 
gunstock maker, had struck each other with their fists, Philip, 
going out of the door, challenged Gysbert, whereupon those v/ho 
were inside held Gysbert fast, so that Philip came back into the 
house and got into a quarrel with Gysbert. 

This, Jacob says also. And that in this turmoil Gysbert was 
wounded, that is to say, Philip knocked Gysbert down and when 
Gysbert got up again, he was wounded. 

[67 w] The aforesaid deponents declare that otherwise there 
was no trouble or dispute, except first between Steven Jansz 
and Philip and then between Philip and Gysbert. 

Which, by handshake and true words, 
instead of an oath, they have declared 
to the director to have thus taken place. 

The 27th day of December Anno 1 650 

The honorable director has this day arrested Philip, the gun- 
stock maker, [to remain within the limits of] the colony under 
penalty of three hundred guilders, and appointed a week from 
next Thursday as the day on which he is to appear in court. 

The same day, Philip has in the presence of Jacob Jansz Stol 
requested permission to go outside the [said limits of the ] arrest 
into the fort, to which consent is given on condition that he 
promise to appear in person on the appointed day and to give 
security for the satisfaction of the judgment and the costs, [68] 
which being promised by him, permission is granted said Philip. 



134 Colon}) of Reusselaersrv^c}( 

On the date aforesaid the honorable director has in Hke man- 
ner once more arrested Jacob Jansz Stol in the colony, in the 
first place to fulfil the contract between the late patroon and his 
predecessor, Hendrick Albertsz, deceased, and furthermore to 
answer for all his crimes committed to this day, and also 
appointed the 5th of January Anno 1650 as the day on which 
he Is to appear in court, but notwithstanding the arrest he has 
without giving bail gone outside the jurisdiction of the colony 
into the fort, in contempt of the liberties ^ obtained. 

Aert Jacobsz was summoned on December 14, 1650, to 
appear on January 5, Anno 1651 , on account of his dispute with 
Jan Helms. 

Abraham Stevens Croaet, on December 1 5tli, summoned for 
the second time to appear on the above court day. 

Christoffel Davits summoned for the second time to appear on 
the above court day. 

Cornelis Cornelisz van Voorhout summoned to appear on the 
above court day. 

December 22, Gysbert Cornelisz from Weesp is granted the 
garden heretofore used by Carsten Carstensz at one beaver 
yearly, on condition that [68v] whenever the honorable masters 
need it, he will have to give it up, subject to reimbursement for 
his outlay. 

1 January 1651 Seger Cornelisz, Peter, the Frenchman, and 

Jan Tyssen summoned to appear on the 5th of 
this month, at nine o'clock. 

2 ditto Egbert Sanders's servant, Jem;" Toenis Cor- 

nelisz. On the 3d, Henrick Driesz, Mr Rut- 
ger Jacobsz' servant. 

3 ditto Jan Helmsz summoned in writing, in the name 

of the patroon, against Aert Jacobsz. 



^ Frp/ieeJen; meaning the liberties or privileges, granted by the charter 
of Freedoms and Exemptions, of 1629. 
- James. 



Court Minutes, 1648-1652 



135 



Sept. 9, 1650 
Attached and 
summoned. 
First default. 

Jan. 5, 1 65 1 

Second 

default. 



3 ditto Jan Baerentsz, by legal process, attached in 

the hands of Jan Reyersz and Ricke[r]t 
Rutgersz at Betelem [Bethlehem], all the 
moneys due from them to Claes Andriesz, 
[notifying them] again to pay, which notice 
was received by Jan Reyersz. 
B. V. Slichtenhorst, director, plaintiff, against 
Jacob Jansz Stol, defendant. 

[Plaintiff demands] whether he, Stol, is willing 
to carry out all the provisions of the contract dated 
June 7, 1642, of his predecessor, Hendrick 
Albertsz, deceased, and [continued] after his 
death, and if so, to give security for the satisfaction 
of the judgment.^ 

Jacob Jansz says that he submits himself to the 
arbitral judgment of impartial men and the director. 
1 648, May 30 For having struck Hans Vos, when he 
suspected no harm, on the forehead with his fist 
and in addition spoken evil of the director afore- 
mentioned. 

For the defamation fl. 10: - 

And for the blow with the fist, 
according to the ordinance dated 

December 7, 1 649, also fl. 10: - 

All cum expemis. 
[69] 1648, June 6, Jacob Jansz fought against Andries 
Constapel with his fists, at the house of Gysbert 
Cornelisz, tavernkeeper, for which he forfeits 
fl. 10:- 
1648, July 6, Jacob Jansz, on his own authority, cut 
down two logs (masts), up above, in the 
patroon's wood, and had them hauled to the 
strand, where they were attached, notwithstand- 
ing which he shipped them on the 8th ditto out 



^ Stol succeeded Harry Alhertsz as ferry master. 



136 Colow^ of Rensselaersrv^cJ( 

of this jurisdiction, thereby acting in utter con- 
tempt of the court. 

The honorable plaintiff, therefore, demands 
that he be arbitrarily punished, as an example to 
others. Also, that he pay the patroon for the 
timber and for violating the attachment, fl. 50, 
according to the ordinance and custom of the 
Manhatans, all cum expensis. 

1648, December 27, Jacob Jansz was fined for having 
with some other persons been drinking at the house 
of Gysbert Cornelisz during divine service. 

1649, June 2, Jacob Jansz, without cause, threw a 
tankard at Hans Vos, the court messenger, 
smashing his face, so that for two months he 
could not perform his duties, for which according 
to the ordinance of the Manhatans he has for- 
feited the sum of fl. 300, all cum expensis. 

[69v] 1649, August 4, Jacob Jansz again removed a log 
(mast), for which he forfeits the amount above 
stated. 

1 649, 1 1 ditto, he struck Willem Jeuriaensz on his back 
with a tankard, at the house of Gysbert Cornelisz, 
for' which he forfeits fl, 1 0. 

And because Abraham Pietersz, carpenter, 
wanted to prevent it, he struck him on the head, 
for which is due fl. 10: 

1650, September 29, he fought with Pieter Hertgerts 
and struck de Hooges on the left eye with his fist, 
and greatly injured the thumb of Volckert Hansz 
in his own house, all of which took place in the 
presence of the honorable fiscal, for which he has 
incurred the double penalty. 

And for contempt of court, in ignoring the 
attachment and summons, the same fine as above. 



Court Minutes, 1 648-1 652 137 

1650, December 12, he struck Gysbert Cornelisz, 
tavernkeeper, and Claes Andriesz with a golf 
club at the house of Steven Jaasz, for which, 

together, he forfeits fl. 20:- 

And whereas the aforesaid Jacob Jansz was 
summoned and arrested in the colony and in 
violation thereof has gone outside the limits of 
the aforesaid jurisdiction, without giving bail, 
the honorable plaintiff maintains that he has for- 
feited the sum of fl. 20 [and demands] that he 
give security for the satisfaction of the judgment 
or sentence. 

[70] Court proceedings, January 5 Anno 1651 

It being taken into consideration that Mons"". Arent van Curler 
as far back as the arrival of the honorable director was nominated 
as commissioner (gecommiiteerde) , but by serious obstacles has 
until this date been prevented from taking office,^ he has on this 
highly pressing occasion accepted the same and consequently 
taken the proper oath before the honorable director. 

Whereas the annual term [of office] of Goossen Gerritsz has 
expired and he for some important reasons urgently requests to 
be discharged, we have, recognizing [the justice of] the same, 
granted his request and discharged him, thanking him hereby for 
his faithful service. 

And in his place are nominated Jan Verbeeck and Pieter 
Hertgers. 

Regarding the question at issue between Aert Jacobsz and Jan 
Helms, it is adjudged that each shall pay a fine of seventy-five 
guilders, cum expensis. 

[70v] Philip Pietersz, gunstock maker, requests delay until 
the next court day, which is granted him on condition that he give 
security for the satisfaction of the judgment. 



^ maef door merckd^cl(e impedimenten tot dato te rugge is gestelt. 



138 Colony of Rensselaersrvy^cl^ 

Jan Labatie offers himself as surety for the judgment. 
Whereas the annual ordinance concerning the shooting at night 
mentions in general, but not in particular, the shooting on New 
Year's eve; 

And whereas, secondly, the renewal of the said ordinances has 
recently been neglected; 

It is decided that the New Year shooters shall for this time 
be excused, without prejudice to the director's action against 
those who fired during the service. 

Decision rendered by: 

Arent van Curler 
Antony de Hooges 

RUTGER JaCOBSZ 

GoossEN Gerritsz 

The honorable director appeals from the above decision. 

Cornelis Cornelisz van Voorhout summoned by the director. 
First default. 

Abraham Stevens denies that he drew his knife oh Jan 
Carstensz, but admits that he fought with him. 

Teunis Cornelisz denies that he fired his gun at New Year 
during the night. 

[71] [Marginal note in the handwriting of van Slichten- 
horst:] 9 ditto, Jochem Kettelheym summoned again to appear 
on the 12th. 

January 10, 1651 

Hclns Vos complains that Dirck de Gojer ^ has threatened to 
assault him at Catskil and that he understood from said Dirck 
that he had given orders to Claes Andriesz and Jacob Lambertsz, 
Cojers,' some time when they saw him here in the colony, to do 
the same. 



^ Dirck Hendricksz, from Hilvereum, in the Gooi. 

" The same as Goo'iers, or Cooilanders, meaning men from the Gooi, 
or Gooiland, a district in the southeastern part of tlie province of North 
Holland, Netherlands. 



Court Minutes, 1648-1652 139 

Whereupon an injunction is served on said Dirck to refrain, on 
pain of corporal punishment, from molesting Hans Vos either by 
word or deed. 

And Jan Dircksz van Bremen is authorized to serve the notice 
on said Dirck in the name of the patroon. 

Furthermore, the director is to forbid Claes Andriesz and 
Jacob Lambertsz [to molest Hans Vos] under the penalty above 
mentioned. 

[71 v] Court proceedings, January 12 Anno 1650 

The honorable director, plaintiff, against Jochem Kettelheym, 

defendant. 

Jochem 1648, July 12, Jochem Kettelheym and Thomas 

Chamber three several times struck each other with 
fists, so that their noses and mouths bled, and that on 
a Sunday, in sight of the director, for which they have 
incurred the triple penalty of fl. 10 each, according 
to the ordinance of May 28, 1 648, amounting together 

to fl. 30:- 

December 27, Jochem confessed that during divine 
service he had been sitting [in the tavern], drinking 
brandy with Plodder,^ the Noorman," Capitayn,^ and 
Rem, the smith,* for which according to the ordinance 
of May 28, 1648, and that of the Manhatans, is 
due fl, 6 :- 

Jochem 1650, July 31, Jochem promised to pay for solder 

Pietersz ° 4 schepels of wheat fl. 10:- 

December 13, the director attached, in the hands of 
Jeuriaen Bestval, all the moneys due from him to said 
Jochem, in order to secure payment; in the first place 
fl. 40, which he, Jochem, then owed to Nocolaes 



^ Jacob Jansz Gardenier, alias Flodder. 
^ Poulus, the Noorman. 
^ Abraham Stevensz. 
* Rem Jansz. 

^ Apparently the same person as Arent Pietersz, alias Solder. See 
Van Rensselaer Boivier Mss, p. 814. 



140 Colon]) of RensselaersTV^cJ^ 

Jochem Koorn and which were attached in his hands, accord- 

agrees to • ^ T^ . 1 • • L J 

submit ^^§ to Room s own admission, as appears by de 

evidence Hoogcs's endorsement on file. What is more, Coorn 
thai he aid several times importuned the director, both in his house 
Koorn. and on the road, about this attachment. ... fl. 40:— 

l 65 1 , January 9, summoned and must first purge 
himself before he can be heard. 

[72] The honorable director, plaintiff, against 
Cornelis Cornelisz van Voorhout, defendant. 

1 649, June 20, the defendant fought with the 
RaemaecJ^er (wheelwright) with fists, in the presence 
of Hans Vos and others at the house of Gysbert, the 
tavernkeeper, for which each has forfeited the sum 

of fl. 10:- 

Drew his knife on Christoffel Davits, for which he 

has forfeited , fl. 1 00:- 

April 1 7, Jan van Bremen complained about the 
defendant on account of violence and blows, for which 
is due a double fine, first on account of the matter com- 
plained of and secondly because it happened at night, 

(a) fl. 10 fl. 40:- 

November • 7, he fought with Thomas Chamber, 

using his fists; due fl. 10:— 

Admits that 1650, September 50, the defendant, wihtout any 

it took place iri itti'-ii 

in Gysbert's ^''^^son or lawtul causc, strucK Jan Labatie m the lava- 
house, tory of Gysbert Cornelisz with his fists, for which he 

must pay the double fine fl. 20 :- 

1651, January 5. Kit Davits summoned. 
January 10. Summoned [again]. 
January 11, 1651 , the director has notified and summoned the 
newly nominated members of the court, to wit, Pieter Hertgers 
and Jan Verbeeck, to take the proper oath and on this date in 
their official capacity to enter upon their duties. 

Baerent Pietersz, having been summoned by the director on 
January 1 1 , 1649, to show where he each year bought his wheat. 



Court Minutes, 1648-1652 141 

answers that he requests an order from the court that he must do 
so. To which the director replies that if he to-day brings in his 
proof, he will not have [his account?] reduced. 

[72\] Cornehs Cornelisz Vos, being summoned to find out 
who on New Year's eve during the service fired off guns in front 
of his door, answers that he does not know. Being asked who 
were at Harmen Bastiaensz's, he answers, seven or eight persons. 

This day, Jan Verbeeck has taken the proper oath as a mem- 
ber of the court (gerechtspersoon) and is admitted by the court. 

Marten Harmensz having been granted a lot in the village 
{byjeemvooninge) to build there, promises that he will not have 
any intercourse or dealings with any private traders, namely, with 
those of the fort. 

Teunis Jacobsz and his wife, being summoned by the director 
about 1 1/8 loot (5/8 ounce) of gold found by them, declare 
that they found it behind the homestead (hofste) of Gysbert, the 
tavernkeeper, and sold it to Gerrit Vasterick for fl. 18, without 
knowing who lost it. 

Which gold being examined by the court here is found to be 
purified and partly engraved gold. 

The director having thereupon submitted the question whether 
it is to be kept for the benefit of the patroon and the co-directors, 
or to be restored to Vasterick; 

It is resolved that it shall be returned to Gerrit Vasterick. 

[73] It is further considered necessary, as thus far little atten- 
tion has been paid to the maintenance of public roads, to the great 
inconvenience and even danger of the inhabitants here, that some 
bridges be built, to wit, one across the first kill, in the village 
{by^eenwooninge) , with railings and benches to sit on; one across 
the third kill; one across the beaver kill, with railings; and a 
wagon bridge around the rear (een r};bruch achterom). Also, 
that a convenient staircase be built on the outside of the church 
(een bequaeme trap aende k^rcl^ worde gemaecl^t) . 

The honorable director, plaintiff, against Jacob Lambertsz, 
defendant. 



142 Colony of RensselaersTvy^cJ^ 

On the 9th of October 1 650, Jacob Lambertsz, being armed, 
with a sword on his side, dared by word and deed, on the 
Hoogen Berch, in the highest manner to insult the director, who 
came there with Steven Jansz, carpenter, to perform his duties, 
without giving any reason or occasion thereto in the least. In 
the presence of Teunis Dircksz and Gysbert aende Berch, he 
wanted to compel the director, first, to drink with him and then 
to fight a duel with him. Furthermore, he used such vile 
language about the court, his past crimes, and his arrest, that one 
can not well put it down with the pen, saying he would [73v] 
wipe his Gooiland . . . with it and that he had enough of 
the director and all the gentlemen, so that finally Teunis Dircksz 
and Gysbert had to take Jacob away. 

He has likewise insulted de Hooges and also Hans Vos. 

Which things in a land of justice can not go unpunished, it 
being intolerable that one should thus, without any. reason what- 
ever, rudely assail one's lawful superiors and their servants and 
even threaten to do them harm, where (as in the case of the 
delinquent) the court has shown such leniency in imposing 
sentence. 

The honorable plaintiff, therefore, in the first place requests 
[a warrant for the] corporal apprehension [of the defendant]. 

Teunis Dircksz, Gysbert aende Berch and Tys Evertsz 
declare that Jacob Lambertsz carried a sword on his side and 
that on coming down the hill he said to the director: "You 
carry a sword? I do too. If you are an officer, I am one also." 
That , meanwhile they had together drawn out the manure for 
Gysbert and that for fun they had made said Jacob out to be 
the officer. 

Which by handshake instead of an oath they 
declare to have thus taken place. 

[Here follow two or three lines which have become illegible.] 

[74] About midsummer anno 1649, the honorable general 
being here, he requested Jan Baerentsz to haul out some logs 
(masis), which he refused, saying that the horses and the land 



Court Minutes, 1 648-1 652 143 

which he had in use belonged to the patroon, so that he first 
ought to have consent thereto. Whereupon the honorable 
general came to the director and after relating the aforesaid con- 
versation requested that permission might be given, whereupon 
consent was given by the director. 

Also, Jan Labatie, having been written to by the honorable 
general to send him a certain negro residing at the house of Broer 
Cornelis, he came to the director's house to request in the first 
place permission to apprehend the aforesaid negro and in the 
second place that the director would assist him, Labatie, in 
making the arrest, whereupon the director gave said Labatie 
permission and lent him the helping hand in making the arrest. 

[74v] Steven Jansz, carpenter, being asked by the director 
v/hether at any time he received any beer from said director to 
retail it; 

Secondly, whether he ever asked and received permission from 
the director to tap; 

Answers, that he never received any beer from the director 
and he tapped without previous consent. 

Steven Jansz has declared this by 
handshake, with true words, instead 
of an oath, to be as stated. 
This 1 8th day of January Anno 1 65 1 . 

[75] Court proceedings January 19 Anno 1651 

This day Pieter Hartgerts has taken the oath of member of the 
court {Cerechts per soon) before the director and is admitted as 
such. 

Upon the request of Andries de Vos what the director has to 
say against his brother-in-law, Baerent Pietersz, the director 
answers that he sent 93 1/2 schepels of wheat to the mill and 
that he got back but 74 schepels. 

The director says that he deserves more credence than a thief. 
Whereupon Andries de Vos says: "You may be that your- 
self.'* 



144 Colony of RensselaersTv^cJ^ 

Andries de Vos says with reference to Ruth Jacobsz and Jan 
Verbeeck . . . [the remainder of the page is blank]. 

[75v] Extraordinary session, January 20 Anno 1651 

November 25, 1648, Thomas Chamber reported that one of 
his cows had been shot dead in the wood by the savages. 

Also, November 14, 1649, Thomas aforesaid again reported 
that a mare was shot dead by the savages. 

Proof hereof follows, according to the contract: 

Jan Andriesz from Dublin and Thomas Heggens declare 
before the court that they found the cow that was killed in the 
woods, the horns being cut off, the bowels removed, the fat cut 
away, a piece cut out of the belly and the rest being left lying 
in the woods, about Vv^hich complaint was made at the time by 
Thomas Chamber to the director. 

They declare this by handshake, with true 
words instead of an oath, to be a fact.. 

Jan Andriesz from Dublin and Poulus Jansz from Gorcum 
declare that they found the aforesaid mare lying dead in the 
woods, having been shot through the soft part of the belly. 

This the witnesses declare in the manner as 
^bove, in the presence of. 

The honorable director 

Arent van Curler 
and myself, 

A. DE [HOOGES, Secretary] 

[Note in the margin, at the bottom of the page, illegible.] 
[76] Whereas some dispute has arisen between Director 
Brant van Slichtenhorst and Jacob Jansz Stol about the contract 
made between the late patroon and Hendrick Albertsz, deceased, 
concerning the beaver trade mentioned in said contract, and find- 
ing that he, Jacob Jansz; can have no knowledge of the aforesaid 
trade of his predecessor ; 



Court Minutes, 1 648-1 652 145 

Secondly, that it is commonly known that he, Hendrick 
Albertsz, deceased, made it his special business to work and not 
to trade; 

And that, owing to the aforesaid obscurity, no solution can 
be found except by submitting the question to the decision of 
impartial men, the following persons have been chosen thereto by 
both sides, to wit: Mons''. Arent van Curler, Antony de Hooges, 
Mr Abraham Staas and Evert Pels; who, after careful con- 
sideration of everything, have decided that for the aforesaid trade 
until the death of the aforesaid predecesor, including the trade of 
the said Jacob Jansz for the period of about eight months in the 
year 1648, there is due fl. 36:— wherewith all claims and 
demands on account of the aforesaid contract shall be settled and 
released. 

Thus signed by us, the aforementioned arbitrators, this 20th 
day of January Anno 1 65 1 . 

Antony de Hooges 
Arent van Curler 
Abram Staas 
Evert Pels 

[76v] Court proceedings, January 26 Anno 1651 

It is decided that Thomas Chamber by virtue of his contract 
shall have the right to use the pasturage specified therein for the 
grazing of his own cattle, without charge. 

As, also in accordance with the contract, he proved on 
January 20, 1 65 1 , that the savages killed a horse and a cow, he 
is by virtue thereof entitled to have them replaced by others with- 
out compensation. 

Court proceedings, February 2 Anno 1 65 1 

Teunis Yhe honorable director, plaintiff, against Teunis 

irc sz £)jj.^|^g2 gjjj Cornelis Teunisz van Westbroeck, in their 

hrst 

default, capacity as administrators of the estate of the late 
Cornelis Maesz, defendants. 



146 Colony of Rensselaersn)})ck 

First The same, against Teunis Dircksz in particular, about 

insults offered to the honorable director. 

[77] Whereas a question has arisen between the 
honorable director. Brant van Slichtenhorst, and Baerent 
Pietersz, the cases of both parties are dismissed, without 
prejudice to the good name and reputation of either. 
Thus done in colleg'io, on the date above written. 
Jacob Lambertsz, defendant. 

First "^ 

default. [The rest of the page is blank.] 

[77y] Brant van Slichtenhorst, director of the colony of Rens- 
selaerswyck, plaintiff, against Teunis Dircksz, defendant. 

Whereas by virtue of their oath and the orders of the honor- 
able patroon the gentlemen [of the court] of the aforesaid colony 
are required and commanded to see to it that all the farmers 
each year, in accordance with their contract, render an itemized 
account and statement [of everything], inclusive even of the fur 
trade, and make payment, and this not in gross, but in detail, 
the said defendant has thus far failed to do so, notwithstanding 
the aforesaid gentlemen, as often as twice a year, by public 
ordinance (in addition to many verbal reminders by the said 
plaintiff) have given abundant warning that every one must 
within certain days deliver an account in writing with the 
vouchers thereof to the director aforesaid and that no one may 
transport out of the colony, or even remove from one place to 
another, any grain, boards, or oth^r effects until and before the 
honorable patroon or his directc are satisfied, on pain of con- 
fiscation of the grain and effects as provided by said ordinance 
and of paying in addition a fine of fl. 25 for each default. 
This does especially apply to those who have an open account, 
Hke this defendant, who is bound to render an account of 
the years 1638 and 1639, as vv^ell as of the building 
done by him and the farm implements and grain which he 
received as former farm hand of the honorable patroon. Also, 
as farmer, from the year 1 640 to 1 648, with the fl. 1 6 for each 



Court Minutes, 1 648-1 652 147 

farm hand. Furthermore, for the years 1 649 and 1 650, accord- 
ing to the agreement of March I 7, 1 650, of the patroon's common 
property, which the defendant leased at a pubHc bidding for 
fl. 500 a year, in addition to the tithes and recognition, according 
to the • conditions of September 1 4, 1 648. Furthermore, the 
defendant, in the year 1648, promised to pay for tithes 28 
schepels of wheat and 28 schepels of oats and in the years 1 649 
and 1 650 the defendant managed on his own authority, without 
the knowledge of the director, much less of the commissioners, 
to appropriate the lord's tithes, and to keep to himself all the 
rent, tithes and the patroon's common property and disposes 
thereof as if they were his own, contrary to the patroon's 
prohibition, as appears on folio 50 of the court record, and only 
seeks his own profit and tries to cheat the patroon out of his law- 
ful property [78] and possessions. And even dares bodly and 
without shame, in the presence of the director and Domine Mega- 
polensis, to assert that he paid fl. 9000, in return for which he, 
the defendant, received but fl. 2000, as was done even lately, on 
May 8, 1 650. Which, indeed, is putting it on altogether too 
thick and quite incredible. 

Furthermore, apart from the aforesaid ordinances, the honor- 
able plaintiff, in the name of the patroon, attached in the year 
1649 the defendant's grain, both threshed and unthreshed, for- 
bidding the same to be removed, much less to be transported out 
of the colony before the defendant had rendered his lawful 
accounting and statement as aforesaid. Notwithstanding this, 
contrary to and in spite of all this, the defendant has carted the 
grain past the director's door and last year furnished two lasts 
of wheat to Hendrick, the baker, and others. Also, on April 21 , 
1650, he caused skipper Jan de Kaeper to take 401 schepels of 
oats and in the fall, on November 14, 160 schepels of oats to 
the Manhatans, and further on his own authority alienated all 
his grain. 

And when the director by proper judicial proceedings tries to 
prevent it, he, the defendant, calls said director a thief and a 



148 Colony of Rensselaersrv^ck 

rescal and, if the plaintiff had not prevented it, would, on 
February 16, 1650, in the morning, at about 9 o'clock, as the 
director was busy writing in his own office, have stabbed him 
with his own pen knife in the presence of his own son and the 
director's two [grand] children/ Which aforesaid deeds, neither 
can nor ought to be suffered to go unpunished. Therefore, as 
the defendant has not only defied the director and this honorable 
court and violated their ordinances as well as the Freedoms law- 
fully obtained by the honorable patroon from their High Might- 
inesses, but also gravely offended the Lords States General whose 
place is likewise occupied here, the honorable plaintiff, in view of 
all these circumstances, demands: 

In the first place, that the defendant shall within a specified 
time be peremptorily ordered to render his lawful account, [78v] 
under penalty of judgment by default and such damages (and 
he would not have it happen again for ten thousand guilders) as 
the plaintiff in his capacity shall reckon to have suffered, with 
costs, and without prejudice to the former fines. 

Secondly, that all the grain delivered, sent away, removed or 
shipped by the defendant during the years 1 648, 1 649 and 1 650 
shall be confiscated by virtue of the aforesaid ordinance. And 
furthermore that the defendant be condemned to pay the full 
amount of all the fines which in accordance with said ordinance 
he has incurred to this date, [the plaintiff] requesting security 
for the satisfaction of the judgment, all with costs. 

Finally, that he be made to pay the rent and toepachi of the 
six morgens of land for the year 1650, and as surety for Jan 
Helms also be made to pay his rent and ioepacht for 1 650, with 
costs. 



^ The will of Gerrit van Slichtenhorst, dated Oct. 1 2, 1 683, proved 
Sept. (Dec?) 29, 1685 (N. Y. Hist. Soc. Collections, 1892, 25:170, 
470—471), mentions seven children: Alida, wife of Peter Davids Schuy- 
ler, Elizabeth, wife of Nicholas William Stuyvesant, Bata, wife of Jan 
Oost, Helagont, Gerrit, Rachel and Yonde. Two of the younger chil- 
dren, Gerrit and Gouda, or Hillegonda, afterwards moved to the Dutch 
colony of Surinam. See De Navorscher, 1918, 67:436-37. 



Court Minutes, / 648-1 652 149 

The same demand the director likewise makes in regard to the 
defendant and Cornelis Teunisz van Westbroeck, in their 
capacity of guardians of the minor children of Cornelis Maessen, 
deceased. 

Director Brant van Slichtenhorst, plaintiff, against Teunis 
Dircksz van Vechten, defendant, for slander. 

Whereas the defendant, on the first of February 1650, when 
the plaintiff in his official capacity came to the house of Cornelis 
Teunisz van Breuckelen to make an inventory of the patroon's 
cattle, in the presence of nearly all the authorities of the colony 
and of Fort Orange, the Domine and about ten witnesses, dared 
1 6 or 17 separate times greatly to abuse the plaintiff, saying : 
''Are you to be our director and ruler? You are an old, gray 
thief and a rascal and you have stolen my own property and I 
shall prove it," adding thereto all sorts of abuse and this without 
any cause or occasion for it. Which slanderous remarks the 
plaintiff brought to the attention of the court and for which the 
defendant is now [79], the 2d of this month, summoned to 
appear before the full court, but does not appear, so that in the 
first place proof of his statements is demanded as before. 

Secondly, the defendant, on December 19, 1649, and again 
on February 16, 1650, at the house of Pieter Bronck likewise 
slandered the plaintiff (and also called Domine Megapolensis 
an informer, as appears more at large by the bill of complaint) , 
which slander the said plaintiff has taken much to heart, being 
a person of good reputation and character, who neither in his 
private nor in his official capacity is willing to suffer such injury 
for anything under the sun and which in a land of justice should 
not go unpunished, it being intolerable that people should thus 
fail to respect their lawful authorities, both ecclesiastical and 
civil. 

The honorable plaintiff concludes therefore that the defendant 
for such repeated, public, deliberate, false and lying accusation 
must and ought to be punished as an example to others. 

Furthermore, that for all the aforesaid slanders he shall make 



150 Colony of RensselaersTi>^cI( 

honorable and pecuniary amends, as follows : In the first place, 
that he shall appear before the entire court and resting on his 
bare knees pray God, .the court and the director for forgiveness ; 
that he shall then with his right hand slap his mouth and say as 
many times as he has slandered with it, " Mouth, thou hast 
spoken falsely and lyingly." And that for each slander he shall 
in addition be condemned to pay a fine of fl. 300, two thirds 
thereof to be for the director and one third for the poor, in 
accordance with the ordinance of May 28, 1648; and that 
furthermore he shall be punished as stated above, all cum 
expensis, the plaintiff demanding security for the judgment. 

The defendant, some time ago, in crossing the river with 
Domine Megapolensis, likewise, without any reason v/hatever, 
addressed many vile words to the Domine, who at the time was 
an estimable minister here in the colony, making him out to be an 
informer and a rascal [7.9v] and, after having uttered said 
slander, crowded in upon the minister with the intention of 
stabbing him unexpectedly with a knife, so that the minister upon 
his approach warned the defendant not to come nearer, or he 
would hit him with a piece of wood on the side of his head in 
such a way that he would fall out of the boat into water. 

And as the defendant has not been able to prove the aforesaid 
charges, he must b^ regarded as a slanderer, who in addition has 
committed assault and violence, for which according to the 
ordinance of May 28, 1648, he is liable to a fine of fl. 150, and 
as the same took place on Sunday, the double amount according 
to the ^ordinance, or fl. 300, and for drawing his knife, fl. 1 00, 
according to the ordinance of the Manhatans, amounting in all 
to . . . fl. [blank] ; all cum expensis. 

Furthermore, the plaintiff has summoned the defendant to 
obtain payment of the stipulated toepachten ^ for the year 1 648, 
in addition to the tithes and the amount in cash stipulated in the 
contract of September 14, 1648; together with the toepachten 



^A sort of quitrent to which the director under his contract with the 
guardians of the young patroon was entitled. 



Court Minutes, 1 648-1 652 151 

for the years 1649 and 1650, at fl. [blank] a year, all cum 
expensis. 

The defendant, furthermore, has dared to put an exhorbitant 
price on his and the patroon's earliest grain, selling the mudde 
at eleven guilders, which is a violation of the patroon's ordinance, 
it being the particular duty of the commissioners and the court 
to prevent that any one fix the price of the grain in such a way 
as to oppress the poor people and his fellow men as much as is 
in his power; for which offense he is liable to the patroon's high- 
est fine. 

[80] September 18, 1648, Teunis Dircksz ordered Willem 
Menten four times in succession to fire a musket in the brewery 
during the night, by which repeated shooting those of the fort 
and in the colony were quite startled and frightened, thinking 
that it was an alarm; whereupon those in the fort returned the 
firing, as a signal that they would come to the rescue, and Mons^ 
Labatie with some soldiers, who were assigned to the task of 
pulling down the houses in the Fu^cJ^ ^ and who were ordered to 
go, during the night sailed across the river to relieve them. When 
Mons''. Labatie and the aforesaid soldiers came into the Grenen- 
bos, Teunis Dircksz gave them six gallons and a half barrel of 
beer for their trouble. For which improper shooting by night, 
he has forfeited for each time the sum of fl. 1 0, according to the 
ordinance of October 1 6, 1 648, and in addition is to be arbi- 
trarily punished as an example to others. All cum expensis. 

The 19th ditto, Teunis Dircksz called Teunis Cornelisz a 
rascal and a thief and in addition beat him in his own house 



^The Dutch name for a funnel shaped hoopnet. The name may 
originally have been applied to the houses in the immediate vicinity of 
the fort, which were built along convergent lines, as distinguished from 
the term b})eenrvon'mge, which in this record is used repeatedly to designate 
the entire village. It is interesting to note that on the island of Curacao, 
in the Dutch West Indies, there is a harbor called de Fu'^cli, which is 
referred to by de Laet as early as 1 644. See his Historic ofte laerlijck 
Verhael van de Verrichtinghen der Ceoctroyeerde West—Jndische Com' 
pagnie, p. 436. Cf. also Doc. rel. to Col. Hist. N. Y., 2:558, and 
Journal of Jasper Danckaerts, 1679—1680, ed. by B. B. James and 
J. F. Jameson, in " Original Narratives of Early American History," 
p. 216. 



152 Colon}) of RensselaersTv^ck 

about the head with his fists and pulled the hair outv of his head, 
because he had hired the six morgens of land which the com- 
missioners in leasing his land had kept to themselves, which 
attempt to give the patroon's property a bad name and make it 
useless is a matter of serious import and consequence, for which 
he has forfeited the sum of 11. 10 for each excess, to wit, first, 
for calling him a rascal, secondly a thief, thirdly, for having 
struck him with his fists, and fourthly for pulling his hair and 
trying to make the patroon's property useless, amounting together 
to fl. 40:- and in addition, arbitrary correction. 

In May 1649, the defendant fought, first with Pieter Hert- 
gers, and then with Mr Abraham Staas, with fists, at their house 
in the brewery, for which he has forfeited fl. 1 each, or fl.20 :— , 
all cum expensis. 

[80v] February 21,. 1649, Teunis Dircksz was fined because 
he let a sleigh with two horses in very cold weather stand with- 
out food or cover before the door of Jan Verbeeck, for which 
according to the ordinance he has forfeited, for the first time, 
the sum of fl. 3 :- 

Director Brant van Slichtenhorst, plaintiff, against Seger 
Cornelisz, defendant. 

Whereas the defendant, on December 23, 1648, before the 
full court, acknowjedged his signature affixed to the contract of 
August 25, 1643, upon which acknowledgement, as appears on 
folio 21 of the court record, he was condemned to fulfill all the 
terms of the contract, which has since expired, it follows that the 
defendant must deliver in the first place, the house, brew house, 
three hay barracks, hogpen, wagon, plow, harrows, harness, and 
furthermore all the farm implements, horses, cows and hogs, 
according to the inventory, information and contract made with 
vander Donck in the year 1 646, all in good condition and wall 
and roof tight,^ according to the plain language of the contract. 



^At this point is written ii; the margin: " 2d, must deliver in good condi- 
tion the number of animals and the aforesaid farm tools; 3d, the build- 
ings; 4th, or, in case of failure, the honorable plaintiff ^\^ll count the loss 
at fl. 1500, plus damages and cost*." 



Court Minutes, 1 648-1 652 153 

which the patroon will not suffer any one to misconstrue or inter- 
pret otherwise than it stands, and which reads as follows: *' The 
patroon shall to begin with provide [the buildings] at his expense, 
provided that the farmer shall thereafter at his expense maintain 
them and keep them in repair, and at the expiration of the lease 
deliver them back in as good condition as he received them." 
Nota. For which the defendant is asked to give security or, in 
default thereof, to go under arrest. 

[81] Also, that the defendant within a short time shall comply 
with and satisfy the judgment of August 1 2, 1 649, in regard to 
his refusal to have an appraisal made of the patroon's own build- 
ings, under penalty of arrest, for the first time. 

Also, payment for the 23 morgens of wheat appraised at fl. 75, 
with interest at 10% until full payment is made, as is customary 
here, and also to give security therefor. 

Whereas all the colonists have each year, sometimes twice, by 
publicly posted notices been warned that every one must deliver 
to the director his account in writing, for each year separately, 
with the necessary vouchers, the defendant nevertheless 
obstinately remains in default to render his account for the years 
1644, 1645, 1646 and 1647, under the penalty provided by the 
ordinance, and is to pay the balance agreed upon on March 3, 
1 650, and to give security therefor. 

Also, the defendant, last year, on his own authority, appro- 
priated the patroon's tithes, without once notifying thereof the 
director, much less the commissioners, for which he has for- 
feited for each morgen 4 schepels of wheat, according to the 
regulations made by the late patroon in regard to the tithes, in 
addition to the value of the same. 

Furthermore, the defendant has dared daily to have teaming 
done with the patroon's horses, which were entrusted to him 
only to do his farm work with, employing thereto one, two and 
even three horses at a time, as the plaintiff himself has seen, in 
violation of the ordinance of March 31,1 649. 

The plaintiff, therefore, demands that the defendant be con- 



154 Colony of Rensselaerswy^cJ^ 

demned to render within a specified time an account of his illegi- 
timate gains; that [81 v] the halfe of said gains shall be declared 
to be for the benefit of the honorable patroon and that he alone, 
without loss to the patroon, shall be required to make good the 
damage suffered on account of the horses that are stiff, crippled, 
lame, blind, dead or drowned; the plaintiff maintaining further 
that the defendant ought to be arbitrarily punished for having 
misused the property that was entrusted to him; all cum expensis. 
Also, that the defendant be ordered within a definite time to 
make a correct return of all the beer that was brewed by him 
and to pay therefore one guilder per barrel, according to the 
ordinance of the honorable patroon. 
February 14. Jacob Lambertsz, defendant. 
Also: Teunis Dircksz 

Corn: Segersz 

Jan Carstensz 

Corn: Teunisz van Westbroeck 

Jan Michielsz 

Willem Jeuriaensz 

Willem Fredericksz 

Aert Jacobszl Of these, the grain, threshed and 

Jan Helms j unthreshed, was attached. 

[82] Court proceedings, February 16 Anno 1651 

Teunis Dircksz acknowledges his signature as surety affixed 
to the contract of sale of the farm of Jan Helms. 

Cornelis Teunisz acknowledges his signature as surety affixed 
to the contract of sale of the farm of Aert Jacobsz. 

Andries de Vos, having been requested to act as assistant to 
the guardians of the orphans of the late Cornelis Maessen, 
accepts the appointment before the court. 

Upon the petition of Andries de Vos, praying to be released 
[from his contract] regarding the use of the water and the build- 
ing of a mill in the vicinity of the farm of Thomas Chamber, on 



Court Minuter, 1 648-1 652 155 

account of the difficulties and inconveniences connected there- 
with, as shown in a previous remonstrance, his reasons are 
accepted by us at their face value and admitted to be vaHd; 
consequently, fiat is entered upon his petition. 

Willem Jeuriaensz acknowledges his signature to his contract 
dated May 7, 1 638. 

Upon the petition of Jan Thomasz and Volckert Hansz, pray- 
ing payment of what is due to them by the honorable patroon, 
the following serves for apostil: If they render a true account, 
statement and proof of what is coming to them from the honor- 
able patroon, they will be satisfied to that amount in goods 
of the honorable patroon. 

[In the margin is written:] The director appeals from the 
above decision. 

[82v] Court proceedings, March 2 Anno 1651 

Jacob Adriaensz summoned to pay land rent of the year 1 648. 

The term of the lease of the homestead of Casper Jacobsz 
shall commence at Amsterdam fair ^ anno 1 65 1 . 

Teunis Dircksz agrees to answer the director's complaint in 
two weeks, provided that a copy be handed to him. 

Cornelis Segersz is likewise granted a delay of two weeks, 
precisely. 

As to the attachment, Cornelis Segersz promises here before 
the court that he will deliver to the honorable director four hun- 
dred schepels of wheat, on condition that he to whom anything 
shall turn out to be due by settlement of accounts, shall receive it. 

In regard to the proposal made the honorable director about 
the ordinance concerning the depreciation of loose seawan,^ issued 
and communicated to us by the honorable general and council of 
New Netherland, we report that we are forced to follow it, for 
the reason that otherwise we should draw all the unstrung sea- 



^ September 22. 

^ See LaJi>s and Ordinances of Nerv Netherland, p. 1 15-18. 



156 ColonVf of Rensselaerswy^cJ^ 

wan from the Manhatans to the colony, to the considerable loss 
and damage of the honorable patroon and the inhabitants. 

March 7, 1 65 1 , the Honorable Director Slichtenhorst 
attached the threshed and unthreshed grain of [Claes Segersz?] 
for the payment of the patroon's highest fine. 

On the same date and in like manner the director attached 
the grain of Jeuriaen Bestval and also summoned him in order 
to secure payment for the years 1 649 and 1 650. 

The 1 I th ditto, Cornelis Segersz was summoned in his capa- 
city of lessee for the payments as above on account of Claes 
Segertsz. 

[83] Cornelis Segertsz having appeared in court on the 2d 
day of March aforesaid, after receipt of the complaint brought 
against him by the honorable director, and having been asked by 
the plaintiff whether he had answered it, he replied that he did 
not consider himself sufficiently able to refute the same and 
requested that for lack of advocates or attorneys a member of 
the court might be appointed defensoris loco to answer the same. 
The honorable members of the court, therefore, having duly con- 
sidered the defendant's request and not seen fit to reject it, but 
on the contrary wishing to grant his just request, have after some 
controversy and opposition finally ordered and directed Antonio 
de Hooges to undertake the task. Which the said de Hooges 
(as in duty bound to their honors aforesaid) has accepted, upon 
this special condition that he should not become involved in the 
suit. Whereupon the honorable plaintiff suggested [that he 
accept ,the appointment] without prejudice to his honor and oath, 
which the said attorney promised., Whereupon, as a further 
pledge, the honorable director and Mons^ Arent van Curler as 
commissioner have offered him, de Hooges, the right hand, in the 
presence of 

Rutger Jacobsz and 
Messrs ^ p-^j^^. Hungers ^ magistrates 



Court Minutes, 1648-1652 157 

[83v] Court proceedings, March 16 Anno 1651 

Cornelis Segersz, being once more confronted with the judg- 
jnent of March 3, 1650, declares and earnestly represents that 
he has serious objections thereto, and humbly but urgently 
requests that the question which may result from his account may 
be referred, not to the honorable masters, who are prejudiced in 
the matter, but to impartial judges or persons learned in the law, 
by whose decision both parties may abide. 

Which request being taken up and considered by their honors 
aforesaid, they have decided to allow room for fair play and 
therefore granted his request. 

Presentibus: Mr Brant van SHchtenhorst, director 
Arent van Curler, commissioner 
A: de Hooges, commissioner and secretary 
Rutger Jacobsz 
Pieter Hertgers and 
Jan Verbeeck 

Gysbert Cornelisz acknowledges that on January 31, 1650, 
he leased Casteels island for fl. 1910. 

What was attached in the hands of Thomas Chamber on 
account of Claes Teunisz amounts to fl. 134:10- 

And after payment of that money on account of Jan Ver- 
beeck fl. 45 :- 

The honorable director hereupon requests judgment. 

Claes Teunisz requests that the money due to him from the 
honorable patroon be paid. 

The director demands payment from Jochem Kettelheym on 
account of the farm of Jeuriaen Bestval, for so far as his share 
as principal is concerned. 

[841 December 21 Anno 1650 

Carsten Carstensen, being asked by the director whether he 
sold the garden heretofore used by him, situated north of the lot 



magistrates 



158 Colony of RensselaersrvycJ( 

of Gysbert Cornelisz from Weesop ^ and south of the honorable 
Company's [ground], as to the ground, the use thereof, or any- 
thing else? 

Answers, that he sold to Jacob Jansen Schermerhoorn the 
palisades and the produce that was in it last summer for four 
beavers, and the hogpen for one beaver, so that he has neither 
sold nor enjoyed any use or ownership, but only [sold] the 
produce and building for so far as they were his own. 

He says also that when the garden was granted to him, he was 
a free colonist under contract with the honorable patroon of this 
colony. 

This he has declared to be true, in the presence of: 

Mons*^. Arendt van Curler 

Mons"". Gerrit Vasterick 

Mons^ Roelant Savery" 

At the request of Director Brandt van Slichtenhorst, 

Which I certify, 

A. de Hooges, Secretary 

This day, the 22d of December 1650, Carsten Carstensen has 
ae^ain declared in court that the above statements are true and 
consequently confirmed them by handshake and true words, 
instead of an oath. 

Which I certify, 

A. de Hooges, Secretary 

Jan Baerensen, v/ho has had the use of the aforesaid garden 
before 'Carsten, declares that he took it by order, authority and 
consent of Cornelis Tuenisz from Brueckelen, at that time officer 
of this colony.^ Testified to, this 27th of March 1651. Which 
I certify, A. de Hooges, Secretary. 



^ The same as Weesp, a city near Amsterdam. 
-He was a glazier; see Appendix II. 

^At the bottom of the page, in a later hand, is written: "Cornelis 
Teunisz from Breuckelen, officer of this colony. When? " 



Court Minutes, 1 648-1 652 159 

[84v] August 18 Anno 1651 

With common consent it is resolved to send away some extracts 
from the court minutes concerning the proceedings between the 
honorable director and Claes Gerritsz. 

The coiirt once more orders Claes Gerritsz to satisfy the judg- 
ment of August 20, 1 650, within six weeks after notice hereof 
is served, under the penalty of two pounds Flemish. 

Whereas question has arisen between Director Slichtenhorst 
and Domine Megapolensis in regard to the account between them 
and the payment thereof, Domine Megapolensis is kindly 
requested this coming autumn to come to the colony of Rens- 
selaerswyck at the expense of the honorable patroon and the 
co-directors, in order to preach God's Holy Word and administer 
the sacraments and among other things to settle the aforesaid 
account and question and pay according to his ability. 
Rensselaerswyck, August 1 8, anno 1 65 1 . 

[The director, 

Slichtenhorst?] 

[85] This day, the 18th of August anno 1651, Hendrick 
Reur from Munster is engaged as court messenger for the period 
of one year, to acquit himself faithfully of his duties, for which 
he is to receive a salary of one hundred guilders a year and in 
addition thereto fees for citations and arrests. 

And Hendrick Reur has by shaking hands with the director, 
instead of taking an oath, promised before the court that he will 
faithfully conduct himself. 

[The rest of the page is blank.] 

[85v] Extraordinary session, September 6, 1651 

As to the question which has arisen between Pieter Bronck 
and Joost Teunisz from Norden; 

Whereas, on receiving an order on Jan van Bremen, Joost 
Teunisz turned over to Pieter Bronck the obligation between 



160 Colony of Rensselaer sti)ycli 

them, which amounts to giving a receipt, but whereas Joost 
Teunisz has not yet received the fifty guilders, owing to the fact 
that to this date he has not been at the house of Jan van Bremen 
for that purpose, and we are informed that at the time the order 
was made out the money was ready, it is adjudged that Joost 
Teunisz must provisionally seek to recover the amount from the 
aforesaid Jan van Bremen and in case for some time to come 
there is no likelihood of payment, Pieter Bronk must secure pay- 
ment before he may receive the balance of his own account from 
Jan van Bremen. 

As to the costs of the extraordinary session, amounting to 
H. 18:10, Joost Teunisz is condemned to pay two thirds, or 
fl. 12:10, and Pieter Bronck one third, or fl. 6:— 

[86] As to the defamation, Joost Teunisz declares before the 
court that he has nothing to say against Pieter Bronck that 
reflects on his honor or virtue, if he only gets his pay. 

As to the calling of names, which Joost had no right to, as 
he should have let the court settle their difference, he is con- 
demned to make reparation by paying a fine of eight guilders to 
the director and two guilders to the poor. 

As to the matter in dispute between Jacob Jansz Plodder, 
plaintiff, and Hendrick Andriesz, defendant, the court has 
thought best to call in two impartial person to examine the boards 
and to determine whether they are merchantable, or not, to which 
purpose are appointed the following persons, namely : Mr Abram 
Pietersz ^ and Harman Bastiaensz, who are lo make their report 
to the court, which shall then adjudge the matter as it shall see fit. 

Whereas Jacob Jansz Plodder sold a certain quantity of 
boards to Hendrick Andriesz, which were to be merchantable 
and now form the subject of a dispute because the delivery is 
said to have taken place out of season, the honorable court has 
thought fit to refer the matter to Harman Bastiaensz and Willem 
Predericksz Bout, to examine said boards and to determine 



Abraham Pietersz Voshurg. 



Court Minutes, 1 648-1652 



161 



whether they are merchantable, or not. The persons aforesaid 
having declared before the court that some of the boards are not 
merchantable, the honorable court have decided and adjudged 
that in their opinion Jacob Jansz Flodder is bound to take back 
the boards and Hendrick Andriesz is ordered to return said 
boards at his expense to Jacob Jansz Flodder, or to make pay- 
ment therefor. The costs of convening the court in extraordinary 
session are to be paid by Jacob Jansz. Done in collegio, the 6th 
of September 1 65 1 . 

By order of the director and council of the colony of Rensse- 
laerswyck, in [their] absence. 

[86v] Court proceedings, September 7 Anno 1651 
Cited are: 



First 
default 



Claes Teunisz 
Marten Hendricksz 
Evert Pels 
Thomas Keuningh 

Extraordinary session, 9 ditto, 1 65 1 



r 



< 



Evert Pels 
Marten Hendricksz 



Court proceedings, September 14 Anno 1651 

The judgment of August 20, 1 650, concerning Claes Gerritsz, 
being read to Cornelis Segersz, he declares that he has made no 
payment, whereupon the director levies an attachment. 

Cornelis Cornelisz van Voorhout cited to pay: 

For the rent of the year 1 650 fl. 1 00:- 

For tithes fl. 15:- 

For[ ] [ ] 

1 [ ] [ I 

6 



162 Colony of Rensselaersw^ck 

For [ ] pair [ ] fl. 30:- 

He promises to pay the same at the first opportunity. 

[87] Thomas Chamber and 1 
Default Claes Teunisz J ^^^^^ 

First default Teunis Cornelisz 

Evert Pels and Martten Hendricksz being summoned to 
appear in regard to payment for the brewery and their note of 
March 15, 1650, acknowledge their signature and debt and 
promise at the first opportunity to make some payment according 
to their ability. 

Claes Gerritsz has cited the honorable director. 

Claes Gerritsz is arrested by the honorable director [to 
remain] within the [limits of the] colony, under penalty of the 
lord's highest fine. 

Upon the petition of Pieter Bronck for permission to have a 
suitable house erected for tapping purposes, for which he has had 
a quantity of lumber piled near his house, the director asks that 
in accordance with the instructions from the honorable guardians 
but two taverns be allowed. Whereupon, the court having heard 
the said instructions read, it is unanimously decided that for the 
convenience of the public [the petition of] Pieter Bronck [shall 
be granted], whereupon the director [has withdrawn his 
request] . 

[87v] Thonias Chamber again cited to appear on Thursday 
next. 

Court proceedings, September 28 Anno 1651 

Cited: 
, , , , f Evert Pels 

Second default. J _ . - . i • i 

I Marten Hendricksz 

Thomas Keuningh 
Sander Leendersz 
Second Cla.es Gerritsz 

default T • /^ r 

1 eunis L-ornelis 



Court Minutes, 1648-1652 163 

Attachment of money due to Claes Gerritsz by 
Broer Cornells. 
Agreed Willcm Frcdcricksz caused Comelis de Vries to be 

'°^^'^"- summoned. 

Claes Rutger Adriaensz caused Claes Cornelisz to be 

Comelisz i 

, . summoned. 

suffers his 
Brst default. 

Evert Pels and Marten Hendricksz acknowledge 
their signatures to the note, one dated March 14, 

1650, amounting to fl. 2200 

the other the 1 5th ditto, in the sum of. fl. 200; 
[Interest?] fl. 96 



fl. 2496:- 
For expenses 5 :8— 



Total due fl. 2501:8- 

In addition. Marten has received 

personally 35 :- 



fl. 2536:8- 
[Two lines destroyed.] 
[88] to pay the third part within one month after the date hereof 
and the balance in February of the year 1652. 

Thomas Chamber complains that Adriaen Dircksz from Bil ^ 
refuses to serve out his term and wastes and neglects his time, 
claiming to be free, contrary to the contract signed by him, dated 
March 24, 1651. 

Adriaen Dircksz acknowledges his signature to the contract. 
He says that he does not want to stay with Thomas Chamber, to 
whom he is bound. 

For the maintenance of good order and justice and to curb the 
refractory spirit and intolerable insolence of the indented servants. 



^'t Bildt, in Friesland? 



16>4 Colon]) of RensselaersTD^ck 

it is adjudged that Adriaen Dircksz shall de facto be taken into 
custody by the officer and for the space of fourteen days be kept 
on bread and water at his own expense and that Thomas 
Chamber may at the expense of said Adriaen hire another servant 
to take Adriaensz Dircksz's place. 

Jochem Wessels requests a lot to build thereon and to support 
himself by baking. Granted on condition that he contracts to 
[one or two lines destroyed], 

[88v] Claes Gerritsz says that the director used violence 
against him. 

The director demands once more that Claes Gerritsz within 
a short time satisfy the judgment against him, or pay the damages 
specified in the complaint and give security therefor, or have his 
person taken into custody. Likewise, as to the fines, that he 
give security or be placed in confinement. 

[The defendant is] to^ make answer on the next court day. 

Claes Gerritsz declares here before the court that Ruth 
Jacobsz did not know of the judgment of August 20, 1650, as 
the man says. 

Court proceedings, October 5 Anno 1 65 1 

Citations : 

Claes Cornelisz cited by Rutger Adriaensz 

Claes Teunisz, Teunis Cornelisz and Jan Michielsz cited by 
Third thg director in regard to question arisen between Rutger 
. Adriaensz and Claes Cornelisz 

As to the defamation, Rutger shall [ ] 

provided that according to the debt Claes pay to Rutger 
[ ] one beaver [ ] according to 

f ] 

[About two lines burned off.) 



Court Minutes, 1 648-1 652 165 

[89] This is the account between Rutger and Claes: 

Claes debit to Rutger Credit 

One beaver for a fur This is paid according 

cap fl. 8 : - to agreement about 

For two citations 1:4 a wagon fl. . 

And the [extract from and according to debt. 1 : 1 

the] minutes -:12 

fl. 1: 1 

fl. 9:16 
1: 1 



Remains [to be paid] fl. 8:15 cum expensis. 

Jan Michielsz acknowledges that he owes the patroon fl. 85. 

The director asks judgment against him and interest, all cum 
expensis. 

Jan Michielsz is condemned to pay the eighty-five guilders 
promptly within two months after date. 

Teunis Cornelisz cited for the third time to pay the sum of 
fl. 1000, with interest, according to valid account. 

It is maintained that he must purge himself of his defaults and 
give security before he can be heard and that then judgment 
ought to be given against him, cum expensis. 

The court, per superabundance, grants a fourth and per- 
emptory citation. 

Claes Gerritsz having been ordered by the court to make 
answer this day and having remained in default, said Claes Ger- 
ritsz is ordered once more, peremptorily, within the space of 
eight days, to satisfy the judgment demanded by the plaintiff, to 
wit, to state precisely how much he has traded each year and to 
pay the damages mentioned in the aforesaid complaint, under 
penalty of judgment by default, and to bind his person and 
property as security for the judgment, without prejudice to the 
director's further claims and demands. 

[89v] Through the mediation and upon the persistent request 
of certain petitioners, Adriaen Dircksz, a prisoner, is this day, 



166 Colony of Rensselaers'W])c]^ 

the seventh of September, graciously released from confinement, 
on condition that he, Adriaen Dircksz, promises to perform his 
duties faithfully and in all obedience, without in any wise acting 
sullenly, or opposing his master in whose service he is, and to 
serve out his bounden time, under penalty of double punishment, 
as the case may deserve, all cum expensis. 

October 12 Anno 1651 

Jan Baerentsz having asked the court for an extension of his 
lease on account of the excessive expenses incurred on his farm, 
we, having noted his diligence and the good progress made by 
him and considering such persons to be extremely useful here, 
have consented to have his lease prolonged or extended for the 
period of four or six years, at his option. 

[90] Extraordinary session, October 18 Anno 1651 

Whereas Rutger Jacobsz has more than once urgently 
requested to be discharged from his office of magistrate (Gerechts 
Persoon) and presented the reasons which move him to do so, 
we, desiring to oblige him in the matter, have to fill his place and 
office first urged Mons^ Johan Baptista van Rensselaer to allow 
himself to be prevailed upon to take his place and finally obtained 
his honor's consent thereto. In confirmation of which his honor 
has by handshake with the director and with the approval of the 
commissioners {gecommitieerden) been confirmed and installed 
in said office. 

Which I certify, 

A. DE HoOGES, Secretary 

On the date above written, Adriaen from Alckmaer has 
agreed that for a certain house standing to the north of Fort 
Orange, heretofore built by a savage named den U\)l,^ through 
pressure brought to bear upon us by virtue of their superior 



^ The Owl. His Indian name was Stichtigeri. 



Court Minutes, 1648-/652 167 

strength, he, Adriaen, would pay yearly one beaver to the agents 
of the honorable patroon and the co-directors, submitting himself 
hereby to the court and the laws of the colony. In witness of 
the truth, this is signed by Adriaen aforesaid with his own hand. 

By me, Adriaen Pietersz van Alckmaer 

Which I certify, 

A. DE HooGES, Secretary 

The lease commences at Easter of this year, 1 65 1 . 

[90v] Court proceedings, October 19, 1651 

Thys Baerentsz admits his debt shown on folio 43 of the 
" Book of Monthly Wages," amounting to three hundred and 
forty-one guilders, fourteen stivers, whereupon the director 
demands judgment against him, with the accrued interest. 

Thys Baerentsz is granted a delay of six weeks in which to 
make payment, under penalty of execution. 

Thomas Keuningh being cited by the director to pay for the 
half of a bull, amounting to the sum of fl. 35 in beavers, toward 
which fl. 1 is credited to him, the director asks that he be con- 
demned to pay. 

Thomas Keuningh is ordered to pay within the space of one 
month after this date. 

As to the question which has arisen between Jochem, the baker, 
and Jacob Luyersz, it is ordered that Jacob Luyersz shall imme- 
diately fulfil his contract with Jochem and that each of them 
shall produce his evidence as to the difference between them on 
Thursday next, on which day they are this day summoned to 
appear. 

Jan Michielsz having heretofore been summoned to pay 
fl. 251, is ordered . . . [two lines destroyed]. 

[91] Gillis Fonda earnestly requests permission to support 
himself by distilling liquor in the Greenen Bos, in the house 
belonging to Evert Pels, next to the brewery. His request is 



168 Colon]^ of RemselaersTv^cI^ 

granted on condition that he enters into a contract in regard to 
the duties to be paid to the honorable masters. 

Extraordinary session, October 21 Anno 1651 

Resolved and therefore ordered and decided that all the 
inhabitants of this colony residing round about and near the vil- 
lage (b})eenn>oonmge) shall be held on Thursday next, being 
the 26th of this month, to make ready at their expense to cut 
down the underbrush in the thicket behind the fort, from there 
to the third kill, along the hill, and to remove said underbrush, 
each one for himself, in order to prevent many accidents and 
inconveniences, in the interest of all. 

[91v] Court proceedings held on October 26 Anno 1651 

Whereas on the last court day, as a special favor, it was 
proposed that Claes Gerritsz submit the differences between him 
and the director to the decision of impartial men and whereas 
the appointed day has now arrived, the parties have agreed to 
refer their question to neutral persons, two to be appointed by 
each, on condition that if the authorized agents can not agree, 
the former claims shall remain intact and that the decision must 
be rendered peremptorily within the space of eight days. 

Jochem, the baker, and Jacob Luyersz, cited by the director. 

Jacob Luyersz declares that Jochem struck him with a piece 
of wood, which blow he warded off with his arm. Also, that 
he had a biscuit knife in his hand, with which he threatened him, 
Jacob', in the house of Hendrick, the baker, and that he called 
him a dog. 

Jochem declares that Jacob drew a knife on him first. 

Claes Cornelisz admits that he owes Tys Baerentsz one hun- 
dred guilders to dat^ and no more. 

First default yj^g director and Gerrit Vasterick have cited Evert 
Pels. 



Court Minutes, 1648-1652 169 

[92] Court proceedings, November 2 Anno 1651 

Dirck van Schelluyne, appearing before this court as the 
attorney and the authorized agent in the case of Michiel Jansz, 
has first of all exhibited and produced in court his appointment 
and commission as a notary, dated April 8 Anno 1650, which 
being carefully examined and read by us is found to be duly, 
firmly and bindingly authenticated in the name of their High 
Mightinesses by the honorable secretary Cornelis Mus ^ and con- 
firmed by the signatures of their High Mightinesses aforesaid, so 
that we properly recognize him as such. 

Cryn Cornelisz and Hans Jansz from Rotterdam requesting 
permission to erect a saw mill on a certain kill situated on the 
west side of the river, a little north of Beeren island, their request 
is granted on the same conditions as other mills, provided they 
submit themselves to the government and judicature of this 
colony. 

[92v] Aert Otterspoor having been summoned by Jan, the 
smith, about defamation, says and declares before the honorable 
court that if he has slandered said Jan (which he does not 
know), he is sorry. Cum expensis. 

The compensation for expenses is fixed by the court at three 
guilders. 

[93] Extraordinary session, November 4 Anno 1651 

The honorable court of the colony of Rensselaerswyck, having 
seen and examined and carefully considered all the documents 
in the proceedings carried on between Director Brant van 
Slichtenhorst, as plaintiff, on one side, and Michiel Jansz, as 
defendant, on the other side, with the continuation thereof by 
Notary Dirck Schelluyne, as attorney, have adjudged and 
decided, as they hereby do adjudge and decide, that the 
defendant, or his sureties in the matter, shall tender and pay to 



^ Cornells Musch. The commission is printed in Documents relative 
to the Colonial History of the State of Neve York, 1 :384. 



1 70 Colony of nensselaerswycJi 

the honorable plaintiff the sum of two thousand nine hundred and 
fifty-four guilders, and eleven stivers, the receipt of which, clear, 
by balance of accounts, the defendant (as appears by his signa- 
ture) , has acknowledged in court. The just half thereof, that is, 
fourteen hundred and seventy-seven guilders and five stivers, 
eight pence, the defendant, or his sureties, are ordered to pledge 
within the space of six weeks after the date hereof. 

Likewise, for three horses received by him, which the 
defendant took with him at his departure [from the colony], 
valued at one hundred and fifty-six guilders and ten stivers each, 
amounting to the sum of four hundred and sixty-nine guilders, ten 
stivers, the defendant, or his sureties, are ordered to pledge the 
amount aforesaid as above. 

As to any further lawful claims which the defendant may have 
aside from the liquid assets mentioned in his aforesaid account, 
he is once more ordered to present proof thereof before the first 
of May anno 1 652, under penalty of judgment by default, and 
in case upon examination by the court said claims are found to 
be properly proven, they will be credited to the defendant's 
account. 

Furthermore, the defendant is condemned in the sum of thirty 
guilders for the costs of this extraordinary session. 

Done in the colony, this 4th day of November anno 1 65 1 . 

By order of the honorable court, 

A. DE HoOGES, Secretary 

[93v] Court proceedings, November 9 Anno 1651 

[Blank space.] 

Extraordinary session, November 10 Anno 1651 

The honorable director and Claes Gerritsz having heretofore 
chosen Mr Johannes Dyckman and Mons*"- Dirck Schelluyne as 
arbitrators on the part of the director and Andries Herbertsz and 
Willem Fredericksz as arbitrators on the part of Claes Geritsz, 



Court Minutes, J 648-1652 171 

they on this day, the date above written, appeared to settle the 
differences between them and in view of the Hmited powers of the 
arbitrators have jointly and severally agreed and contracted to 
settle' all the questions and differences which have thus far arisen 
between them out of court and to place them entirely [94] into 
the hands of the aforesaid arbitrators, on condition that each 
party shall waive all right of exception or whatever may in any 
wise conflict with the full power of attorney given by him, under 
penalty if either of the principals should violate this agreement 
or object to the decision or award of the arbitrators of forfeiting 
the sum of seventy-five guilders to the poor; for the fulfilment of 
which they bind themselves according to law. But with this 
exception and reservation that if the authorized agents can not 
agree or compose the differences, that then all former judgments 
and writings regarding the aforesaid differences shall stand and 
remain intact. In witness whereof the principals have confirmed 
and ratified these by their signatures. Done in the colony of 
Rensselaerswyck, the year and day above written. 

B. V. Slichtenhorst 

The mark X of Claes Gerritsz, made with his own hand. 

In the capacity aforesaid the authorized agents have found and 
awarded, as they hereby do find and award, as follows: 

As to the forbidden trade carried on by Claes Gerritsz, he 
shall pay therefor to the director the sum of one hundred guilders, 
at twenty stivers apiece, once, and [94v] no more. 

Secondly, as to the unlawfully traded furs and the contraband 
goods found in the possession of said Claes Gerritsz, it is decided 
that they shall remain confiscated and forfeited for the benefit 
of the honorable director in his official capacity. 

Finally, as to the insulting and slanderous remarks addressed 
by Claes Gerritsz to the person of the honorable director, it is 
decided that by way of fine the said Claes Gerritsz shall within 
the space of 14 days from the date hereof turn over and pay 
once for all the sum of twenty five guilders for the benefit of the 
poor and a like sum to the honorable director. 



1 72 Colony of Rensselaer Sivy c]( 

Furthermore, he shall admit to the director that he did wrong. 
All with the costs of the extraordinary session and this arbitration. 
Wherewith all the disputes which to this date have arisen and 
occurred between the parties are finally disposed of and settled, 
the parties on both sides being for ever after enjoined from taking 
any legal or extrajudicial action in the matter. Thus done by 
the authorized agents on the date above written. In witness 
whereof they have hereto affixed their signatures. 

Joannes Dyckman 
d. v. schelluyne 

1651 
Andries Herberts 
The mark of X WiLLEM Fredericksz, made with 
his own hand 
[95] In accordance with the aforesaid arbitration, Claes 
Gerritsz has by handshake, in the presence of the aforesaid 
authorized agents, acknowledged to the honorable director that 
he has done wrong. Date above written. 

Which I certify, 

A. DE HOOGES, Secretary 

Court proceedings, November 16 Anno 1651 
The following were cited: 

Hans first Hans Jansz from Rotterdam cited by Evert Pels 

default. Adriaen de Vries and Evert Noldingh cited by the 

honorable director 
deifadtf Claes Uylenspiegel cited by Mr Dyckman 

The honorable director, plaintiff, against Evert Noldingh, 
defendant. 

Whereas the defendant has committed a criminal offense by 
striking Adriaen Dircksz in the face with a pair of tongs, thereby 
completely smashing his nose and mortally wounding him, without 
any reason or occasion for it in the least, which serious crime in 
a land of justice may not remain unpunished; therefore, the 



Court Minutes, 1648-1652 173 

honorable director demands that he shall be arbitrarily punished 
and in addition be condemned to pay a fine of fl. 300, or be put 
to hard labor, according to the ordinance, cum expemis. And 
furthermore, that he shall give security for the satisfaction of the 
judgment, or be placed under arrest. [Two lines burned off.] 

[96] It is resolved and decided that on every court day the 
bell shall be rung, in order that every one may know the time 
when the court convenes. 

Court proceedings, November 23 Anno 1 65 1 

It is resolved and ordered that on the 28th of November of 
this year, being next Tuesday, every inhabitant of this colony 
shall take the burgher oath, according to the formulary.^ 

Citations : 

Mr Dyckman causes Claes Uylenspiegel ^ to be cited. 
Claes Uylenspiegel — Cornelis Cornelisz van Voorhout. 
The honorable director — Jochem, the baker. 

Mr Dyckman requests that the wages earned by Jan Weble ^ 
be deposited with the court, until proper liquidation. 

Upon the petition of Adriaen Jansz, schoolmaster,* the follow- 
ing apostil is entered: 

The petitioner is granted for this current year, from now on, 
without thereby establishing any precedent, in alleviation of his 
house rent, out of the emoluments of this colony, the sum of 
fifty guilders, once. 

[96v] Court proceedings, November 30 Anno 1651 

The honorable director causes Jochem, the baker, and Jacob 
Luyersz to be cited. 

Jan Michielsz — Claes Uylenspiegel. 



^ For the form of this oath and the names of the persons who took 
it, see O'Callaghan, History of Nerv Netherland, 2 : 1 76. 

^ Claes Teunisz, alias Uylenspiegel, meaning the wag, or joker. 

^ This name is not identified. Perhaps intended for Jan Wemple. 

* Adriaen Jansz van Ilpendam, who on February 2, 1655, petitioned 
the court of Fort Orange and Beverwyck for the exclusive right to keep 
day and night school. He was apparently in the colony on November 



1 74 Colony of Rensselaer sw^ck 

Teunis Dircksz cited and his property attached at the request 
of the director. 

Jeuriaen Bestval cited and his property attached at the request 
of the director. 

Property of Claes Segersz attached. 

Property of Evert Pels attached. 

Property of Cornehs CorneHsz van Voorhout attached. 

This day, Mr Joannes Dyckman, assisted by Jean Labatie, 
Jacob Jansz Stol and Pieter Ruyverdingh, dehvered to the court 
a writ of appeal signed by the Honorable General P. Stuyvesant, 
dated November 20, 1 65 1 . 

Jacob Luyersz denies having drawn a knife on Jochem, the 
baker. 

The court having heard the parties, to wit, Jochem, the baker, 
and Jacob Luyersz, and having duly considered everything, con- 
demn the said Jochem, for striking [Jacob Luyersz] with a piece 
of wood, to pay fl. 10, and [the said Jochem] as well as Jacob 
Luyersz for drawing knives, to pay each a fine of fl. 10. 

Willem Jeuriaensz being asked in court whether he is willing 
to carry out the contract entered into with Jan van Hoesen, dated 
January 30, 1650, he answers. No. 



28, 1 650, and was probably engaged as schoolmaster not long after 
September 9, 1 650, when the court of the colony passed the fol- 
lowing resolution: "Whereas the Honorable director, the commissioners 
and councilors of the colony are earnestly requested to provide the 
inhabitants with a competent schoolmaster and to appoint one, and 
recognizing the need thereof and that such appointment would tend to 
the uplift of a well ordered republic; therefore, having duly considered 
the same, we have in the first place, of our owii free will chosen and 
appointed as curators and commissioners for the building of a suitable 
school, the securing of a voluntary contribution from these inhabitants 
thereto, and the supervision and administration and authority over the 
same, their honors, Monsr. Arent van Curler and Goossen Gerritsen, 
who are hereby authorized thereto and also voluntarily accept the same. 
Done in the colony of Rensselaerswyck, this 9th day of September Anno 
1 650. (Signed) B. v. Slichtenhorst, A. de Hooges, Rut Jacobsem. A. 
van Curler, and the mark X of Goossen Gerritsz, made with his own 
hand. ("Leases and Contracts," 1648—52, p. 19, Rensselaerswyck 
Mss.) 



Court Minutes, 1 648-1652 175 

[97] Court proceedings, December 7 Anno 1651 

The following citations were made: 
Jacob Aerts caused to be cited Evert Pels 
TTie honorable director " Jochem Kettelheym 

Willem Jeuriaensz 
Jeuriaen Bestval 
Evert Pels 
Teunis Dircksz and ' , 

Kees Schoester/ on fj I 

the part or the mmor r| 

children " Jacob Aertsz, wagoner 

Mr Dyckman ** Corn. Cornelisz van Voorhout 

Jacob Aertsz, acknowledging his debt for the purchase of 
goods belonging to the estate of Cornelis Maesz, deceased, 
amounting to the sum of fl. 65 : 1 2 :8, is ordered promptly to pay 
the aforesaid money with the interest thereof at the rate of one 
penny in sixteen to be reckoned from Shrove Tuesday 1649. 

Jeuriaen Bestval and Jochem Kettelheym are hereby per- 
emptorily and strictly ordered promptly to pay the arrears of 
money next Thursday, or to furnish two sufficient sureties, or, in 
default thereof to go to debtor's prison. 

Willem Jeuriaensz acknowledges his signature affixed to the 
contract dated May 7, anno 1 638. 

[97v] December 1 1 , anno 1 65 1 , the director, on account of 
the crime committed [by Huybert Jansz], attached all the 
money in the hands of Mons^ van Curler which is due to Huy- 
bert Jansz by Mons^ van Curler. 

Court day held on December 14, 1651 

The 7th ditto, [the director?] caused to be cited the guardians 
of the children of the late CorneHs Maessen; 



^ Cornelis Teunisz van Westbroeck, one of the guardians of the minor 
children of Cornelis Maesz van Buren. See Van Rensselaer Bowier Mss, 
p. 181. 



1 76 Colonxi of R.ensselaersTv\)cJ( 

Default also, Claes Segersz, Jeurlaen Bestval and Jan Reyersz. 

Default jjijto^ Pieter Bronck had Aert Otterspoor cited 

Default ditto, Aert Otterspoor Jan van Bremen 

Default Gysbert aende Berch and Claes, his brother 

Default Jochem Kettelheym and Jeuriaen Bestval 

Aert Jacobsz and Cornelis Teunisz, as surety for the aforesaid 
Aert Jacobsz, cited to acknowledge or deny their signatures 
affixed to the contract dated August 16, anno 1649. 

Jan Reyersz admits the debt for goods received from the 
estate of the late Cornelis Maessen. Is therefore condemned to 
pay, the same as others. 

The director attached fl. 500 in the hands of Jan Reyersz, 
due to Ryck Rutgersz. 

Aert Jacobsz and Cornelis Teunisz acknowledge 
^*^'* their signatures affixed to the aforesaid contract and 

judgment . i ■ i i • ii • • 

ad to Aert, or the surety, is condemned to pay withm six 



was reac 



Aert Jacobsz wccks the two years' rent due for the years 1 649 
^ . ™" and 1650 according to the contract, under penalty 

1 eunisz on m. ^ 

the 21st of execution, [98] and the remaining rent next 

*^'"''- Easter anno 1 652, Aert, or his surety being likewise 

condemned to pay this. 

The director has notified Aert Jacobsz of the cancellation of 
the lease of the nearest farm at Bethlehem, heretofore occupied 
by him, with order to leave the same next spring, anno 1652, 
unless he, or his surety, promptly turn over and pay the arrears 
of rent, tithes, recognitions, etc., according to the contract. 

Aert Jacobsz and Cornelis Teunisz van Westbroeck cited to 
appear on the 2 1 st of December anno 1 65 1 . 

Court proceedings held the 2 1 st of December Anno 1 65 1 

Whereas Hendrick Westerkamp, contrary to the published 
ordinance, on the 1 8th of this month had Jan Baerentsz and 
Claes, the Brabander, haul firewood, and Hendrick admits hav- 
ing been warned by Jan Baerentsz, after which he had four more 



Court Minutes, 1648-1652 177 

sleigh loads hauled, he [and the] drivers are condemned accord- 
ing to the ordinance. 

[ ] Febni- Whereas Jan Baerentsz and Jan Reyersz corn- 
notice wa» plain that Claes Andriesz troubles them about some 
served on money which he claims to be due, they are hereby, 
under penalty of the lord's highest fine, enjoined 
B. V. Slich- and forbidden from troubling each other any more, 
ten orsf, without prcjudice to each person's rights. 

[98v] Court proceedings, January 4 Anno 1 652 

Cited at the request of the director: 

Ryck Rutgersz 

Kees Schoester 

Lucas, the brother-in-law of Jan Thomas 

Aryen, the servant of Cornelis Vos 

Gysbert aenden Berch 

Claes, his brother 
Ryck Rutgersz acknowledges his debt on folio 76 of the 
director's book, amounting to fl. 944, whereupon the director 
demands judgment against him, without prejudice to any further 
claims or right which Ryckgert may have. 

The court orders Ryck Rutgersz, if he has any counter claims, 
to produce them within the space of fourteen days and after 
previous and proper inspection of them to liquidate accounts and 
furnish sufficient sureties for the payment, or els^ to go to debtor's 
prison. 

This was read to Ryck Rutgersz. 

Whereas Claes Cornelisz, being the servant and brother of 
Gysbert aende Berch, last year, on a Sunday, came to the house 
of the director and in a spiteful tone said that he '* would get his 
pay " from Gysbert, even if the director and the gentlemen of 
the court were standing by, which actually did happen and can 
not be tolerated in a land of justice, the honorable plaintiff con- 
cludes that the guilty party is therefor in die highest degree liable 



1 78 Colony of RensselaerswycJ^ 

to arbitrary punishment, as an example to others, irrespective of 
his right to recover what is due to him, all in conformity with, the 
former ordinances and the plaintiff's duty, cum expensis. 

Gysbert Cornelisz admits that he has taken some grain for his 
brother Claes and delivered it. 

Gysbert acknowledges his indebtedness in the sum of fl. 1981 , 
as per folio 44 of the director's book, but as to the fl. 540 for 
the number of morgens received he claims that it is sufficient for 
him to make restitution at the expiration of the lease according 
to appraisal. 

[99] The court order Gysbert aenden Berch, if he has any 
counter claims to make with reference to the fl. 1981, or other 
accounts, to produce them without fail within eight days after 
this date and then after previous and proper examination to 
liquidate accounts and furnish sufficient sureties for the payment 
or go to debtor's prison. 

It is decided that a copy of the director's complaint shall be 
handed to Cornelis Teunisz van Westbroeck to make answer 
thereto on next TTiursday and to furnish sureties for the satis- 
faction of the judgment. 

The director concludes that whereas Lucas, the brother-in-law 
of Jan Thomasz, and Aryen, the servant of Cornelis Vos, on the 
yacht of Willem Albertsz have beaten said Willem over the 
head till he bled, knocking off some pieces of skin, they have each 
forfeited the sum of fl. 25, for which they must give security. 

It is resolved that the heavy cannon belonging to the honorable 
niiasters, being two in number and lying in the fort, shall from 
there be brought back to the colony. 

If is agreed that Steven Jansz shall receive his wages at fl. 20 
a month, clear, and that he shall not be charged for board at 
the places where he has worked. 

Whereas Claes Cornelis, the brother of Gysbert aende Berch, 
in spite of the prohibition and arrest, has taken and appropriated 
to himself some grain, in contempt of this honorable court, and 
in addition has heretofore used these insulting words, namely, 



Court Minutes. 1648-1652 179 

that " he would get it, even if the director and the other gentle- 
men were standing near," which is intolerable in a land of justice, 
he is condemned to pay a fine of fl. [ ] , for which he is to 

furnish sureties, the ordinances remaining in force. Cum 
expemis. 

[In the margin is written:] This sentence was rendered on 
January 11,1 652, and entered here by mistake. 

[99v] Court proceedings, January 1 1 Anno 1 652 

Citations : 

Teunis Cornelisz 
Willem Albertsz 

Lucas, the brother-in-law of Jan Thomasz 
Adriaen, his mate 
Gysbert aende Berch 
Claes, his brother 
Willem Albertsz says that he was beaten by Lucas first, 
before he took the sword from its place. 

What Teunis Cornelis acknowledges he 
owes according to folio 74 of the director's 

book, amounts to the sum of fl. 1 280: 1 I :- 

His credit account as above amounts to ... . fl. 616:15:12 

So that he remains indebted fl. 663 : 1 6 : 1 2 

For counter claim on account of incon- 
venience of the house, hauling logs, etc., is 
deducted fl. 100:- 

Balance to be paid fl. 563 : 1 6 : 1 2 

Except the straw and the four beavers paid on account of the 
patroon for covering the hay barrack. 

Whereas Teunis Cornelisz at the aforesaid liquidation of 
accounts asks permission to pay the aforesaid sum in instalments, 
permission is granted him to pay the money promptly in three 



180 Colon]) of Rensselaer sw^ck 

payments, the first one month from this date, the second a month 
later and the third hkewise after one month, making in all a 
period of three months, payment to be made in good currency or 
merchandise within the space of 1 4 days, for which he is to bind 
himself and furnish sureties, under penalty of execution. 

[100] Robbert Vasterick offers himself as surety for Lucas, 
the brother-in-law of Jan Thomasz, and his comrade Aryen, in 
the actions brought against them to this day by the honorable 
director in the matter of Willem Albertsz, namely, on account 
of the fight. 

Upon the petition of Cornelis Teunisz van Westb[roeck] the 
following apostil is given: The petitioner is granted a delay of 
eight days, provided he give security for the satisfaction of the 
judgment before instituting his defense. Done in the colony of 
R : Wyck, this 1 1 th of January 1 652. Was signed : To my 
knowledge, 

A. de Hooges, Secretary 

Court proceedings, January 18, 1652 

The honorable director caused to be cited: 
Tys Baerentsz 
Robbert Vasterick 
Willem Albertsz 
Hans Jansz Ifrom Rotterdam 
Tys Baerentsz being cited with reference of the judgment of 
October 19, 1651, is once more and peremptorily ordered and 
commanded to pay the money mentioned therein within one month 
after this date, under penalty of being put upon the limits, or to 
give security therefor. 

Hans Jansz from Rotterdam denies that he fought with Jacob 
Flodder, much less that he drew a knife. 

Upon the complaint of Evert Pels and in view of the ordinance 
of November 16, 1 65 1 , on account of lost time and abuse and 
contempt of court, Hans Jansz from Rotterdam is condemned 



Court Minutes, 1648-1652 181 

to pay a fine of twenty guilders, without prejudice to the claim 
of Evert Pels. 

The court having considered the complaint of the honorable 
director against Willem Albertsz, on the one side, and Lucas, 
the brother-in-law of Jan Thomasz, and Aryen, the servant of 
Cornelis Vos, on the other side, and heard the parties and the 
witnesses, have condemned Willem Albertsz and Lucas afore- 
said each to . . . [one or two lines destroyed]. 

[lOOv] Ryck Rutgersz is once more ordered to comply with 
the ordinance of January 4, 1 652, under the penalty as above. 

Jan van Hoesen is from this date granted the lot of Willem 
Jeuriaensz, provided that he, Willem, shall remain in his house 
as long as he lives or the occasion requires. 

Cornelis Teunisz van Westbroeck offers his house and effects 
as security for the judgment in regard to the complaint of the 
honorable director. 

Court proceedings held on January 25 Anno 1652 

Upon the petition of Evert Pels, containing a request for the 
lot next to the garden of Gysbert, the tavernkeeper, it is decided 
as follows: 

1 The petitioner's request for the lot and horse mill is granted. 

Gysbert [aende Berch] is authorized to draw [logs] for the 
petitioner during eight days, but not to use any mares. 

Upon the petition of Reyer Elbertsz, praying that he may be 
permitted to burn brick, it is decided to make the following 
apostil: The petitioner is granted permission to try if it will 
succeed, in which case a formal order on the subject will be 
made, but that the place, etc., will be shown him. 

Whereas heretofore a lot was granted to the poor in full 
ownership, next to the lot of Sander Leendersz, it is decided that 
the same shall . . . [one or two lines destroyed]. 

[101] 2 Jeuriaen Teunisz, glazier, is granted a lot between 
Gysbert Cornelisz, the tavernkeeper, and the land of Thomas 



182 Colonp of Rensselaer srp^cl( 

Jansz, which will be shown to him, provided that the lease is to 
commence next Easter. 

The honorable director having represented that Dirck Jansz 
is bound to submit to the court an invoice of the goods imported 
by him into the colony and the court finding that much trouble 
may arise from such importations, it is resolved and decided that 
Dirck aforesaid shall [be required to] take the burgher oath 
and that the house which was built by Harmen Bastiaensz and 
the said Dirck shall be transferred to Dirck's name, on condition 
that he enter into a contract and pay the duties to the honorable 
masters. 

Jochem Wesselsche, baker, is hereby expressly 
2^^^ ordered and commanded within the space of eight 

days from this date to have the lumber and the hog- 
pen lying and stcmding on the lot of Jan van Hoesen removed 
from said lot to the lot assigned to him, under penalty of having 
the director order it done at their expense and to his profit. 
Likewise, the said Jochem, his wife and the members of the 
family are strictly enjoined from assaulting, molesting or 
troubling Jan van Hoesen or his family in any way by word or 
deed, under penalty of fifty guilders, in addition to the ordinary 
fine. The same injunction is issued to Jan van Hoesen and family 
with regard to Jochem Wesselsche. 

[lOlv] Court proceedings, February 1 Anno 1652 

Citations : 

By the director: 

Jochem Wesselsz and his wife 
Tys Baerentsz 
By Pieter Bronck: 
Paulus Thomasz 
Paulus Thomasz admits that he owes Pieter Bronck 
fl. 165:16. 

Pieter Bronck asks judgment and security for the payment. 



Court Minutes, 1 648-1 652 183 

Paulus Thomasz being asked in court by the honorable 
director on what conditions he and Jan van Bremen, Pieter 
Teunisz, Compeer ^ and others were to take up and possess the 
land promised to them at Catskil, answers that they were to use 
the land for ten years free from any taxes, but that at the 
expiration of the ten years they were to pay tithes, whereupon 
they took the oath of fidelity before and to Mr Dyckman. 

The above, Paulus Thomas declares by 

handshake and on the truth of a man, 

instead of under oath, before the director, 

to have thus taken place. 

[102] Mr Johannes Dyckman, appearing in court with the 

request that he may be permitted to have as much timber cut and 

hauled as will be necessary for a new house, his request is granted. 

3 Jan Baerentsz Wemp requesting permission to have a lot 
next to the palisades, north of Thomas Jansz, on condition that 
the lease shall commence at Easter anno 1653, his request is 
granted provided that the lot shall be pointed out to him and 
that he must contract like others. 

Whereas Jan Baerentsz aforesaid requests that the half of 
the increase of the cattle may belong to him in full ownership, 
as mentioned in his contract, it is resolved and decided to let him 
have the same. 

4 Hendrick Reur is granted the lot next to that of Jeuriaen, 
the glazier, on condition that he shall make a contract like others, 
the lease to conmience Easter anno 1653. 

5 Steven Jansz is granted the lot next to Hendrick Reur. 
The lease commences Easter anno 1653. 

6 Jacob Simonsz Klomp is granted the lot next to Steven 
Jansz. The lease commences Easter anno 1653. 

7 Marten Hendrick Verbeeck [is granted the lot] next to 
Jacob Simonsz. The lease commences as hereinbefore stated. 
He shall support himself by brewing. 



^ Thomas Higgins. 



184 Colony of Rensselaer sTpy^cIf 

[ 1 02v] Whereas the honorable director on the one side and 
Jan Thomasz and Volckert Hansz on the other side by way of 
compromise have heretofore referred their mutual differences to 
the decision and award of the honorable guardians in the father- 
land ^ and to this date have received no information or decision, 
the parties hereby mutually release each other from the aforesaid 
compromise, their difference remaining in the same state as before 
and intact, just as if no submission [to the guardians] had taken 
place. 

Court proceedings, February 8 Anno 1652 

Cited by the director: 

Ruth Jacobsz, about payment or restitution of 64 schepels of 
wheat. 

Thomas Sandersz, smith. 

Pieter, the Frenchman. 

The honorable director, plaintiff, against Thomas Sandersz, 
smith, and Pieter, the Frenchman, defendants. 

Whereas on the first day of February of this year they pre- 
sumed to fight with each other with knives, with the result that 
Thomas aforesaid was wounded in his left arm, the honorable 
director concludes that each of them, by virtue of the ordinance, 
has incurred the penalty of fl. 300, for which they are to be put 
on the limits. 

[ 1 03 ] Peremptory order is issued by the court that both 
parties, Thomas Sanders as well as Pieter, the Frenchman, must 
present their evidence by Thursday next. 

Mr Dyckman proposes the question whether the gentlemen 
of the court did not promise him copies of the deeds of purchase 
and conveyance of this colony? 

Answer : Yes. 

Asks: Why, then, they were not exhibited? 

Is informed that an answer thereto was given. 

Mr Dyckman, having a placard from the Hon. Director 
General Petro Stuyvesant, proposes to post the same in the fort 



Meaning the guardians of Johannes van Rensselaer, the young patroon. 



Court Minutes, 1 648-1 652 185 

as well as in the colony. Says also that he will show authority 
thereto from their High Mightinesses and the Company. 

The honorable director first requests a copy to examine it. 

Mr Dyckman asks and requests permission to publish and post 
the placard in the colony. 

The honorable director again answers. No. 

Mr Dyckman says that he will ask it once more and that then 
[blank]. 

[103v]^ Extraordinary session, February 9 Anno 1652 

Whereas on February 8, 1652, Mr Johannes Dyckman, 
accompanied by five persons and his assistant appeared before 
the full assembly and there with much circumstance explained 
his instructions, reading among other things a placard of the Hon. 
General Petro Stuyvesant and the Council of New Netherland 
regarding certain claims to some ground around Fort Orange, 
and first asked us for permission to post this placard in the colony 
and then, when according to our duty this was refused, assured 
us among other things that such was the order of their High 
Mightinesses, therefore, [be it known,] that we shall first calmly 
await the order of their High Mightinesses aforesaid and that in 
case of refusal or lack of remonstrance [on their part] we shall 
in honor and by virtue of our oath be bound to protest against all 
damage, mischief or injury which may result therefrom. 

And in case, contrary to our expectation, without the approval 
of their High Mightinesses aforesaid, any placards should be 
posted within the jurisdiction of the colony, [we promise] that 
any person who shall tear them down shall at the expense of the 
honorable masters be released from all costs, loss or damage. 

B. V. Slichtenhorst, Director of the 

colony of Rensselaerswyck 
A. DE. HoOGES, Secretary 

A VAN Curler 

J. B. [van Rensselaer] 



^ In the margin is written : A copy hereof was shown to Mr. Johannes 
Dyckman on Feb. 26, 1652. 



186 Colon}) of Rensselaer srvy^ck 

[104] The honorable court of the colony of Rensselaerswyck, 
by virtue of the agreement dated September 28, anno 1650, 
request Mr Johannes Dyckman in all amity and friendship, 
according to the tenor of the agreement just mentioned, to restore 
the three cannon belonging to the honorable masters. Done in 
collegio, this 9th day of February Anno 1652. Was signed: 

B. V. Slichtenhorst, Director 
of the colony 

A. de Hooges, Secretary and 
Commissioner 

A. van Curler 

J. B. V. Rensselaer 

Jan Verbeeck 
Whereas Harmen Bastiaensz has the lumber for a house ready 
at the place assigned to him and in view of the placards lately 
posted by the Company is reluctant to proceed with the building; 
the more so as Mr Dyckman on the date underwritten has for- 
bidden him to do so, therefore the director hereby releases him 
from all demonstrable loss or damage which he may suffer on 
that account. Done in Rensselaerswyck, this 9th of February 
Anno 1652. Was signed: 

B. V. Slichtenhorst, Director of the 
colony of Rensselaerswyck 

[I04v] Extraordinary session, February 12 Anno 1652 

Arrested and cited by the director to appear in court this day, 
at 9 o'clock in the forenoon : 

Jan Dircksz van Bremen and 

Pieter Teunisz van Brunswyck 

The parties having failed to appear after their names had 
been legally called, the first default is given against them. 

The honorable director asks that a second and a third per- 
emptory summons be issued to appear on Thursday next. 

The court rules: Fiat 

Mons^ Arent van Curler and Mons^ Johan Baptist van 
Rensselaer attest at the request of the director that Jan Dircksz 



Court Minutes, 1 648-/ 652 187 

van Bremen on December 27 Anno 1651, in their presence, 
acknowledged his signature to the contract made with the honor- 
able director and the commissioners on the 18th of January of 
the year aforesaid. 

Court proceedings, February 1 5 Anno 1 652 
Cited by the director are : 

The court, for 

reasons, has at their pi^ter Tcunisz and 1 2d and 3d peremptory 

request granted them ^ 

8 days' delay. Jan Van Bremen J summons 

First default. 

r Teunis Dircksz 

Second default, i r-i i r~> 

L Kyck Kutgersz 

The court messenger reports that accofding to his warrant he 
served the second and third peremptory summons on Jan van Bre- 
men and Pieter Teunisz and that they accepted them, but replied 
that they could not appear on this day, [but would appear] a 
week from this date. 

[105] Mr Johannes Dyckman, assisted by Master Abraham 
Staas, Jacob Jansz Stol, Jan Labatie and Pieter Ruerdingh, 
assistant, appearing after proper request for admittance, has 
handed in two placards, addressed to the Commander and those 
of the jurisdiction of Rensselaerswyck, one of the 27th and the 
other of the 29th of January 1 652, and signed Andreas Johannis 
Christman, Clerk. Also an extract from the Resolution Book of 
the Hon. Director General and Council of New Netherland, 
of Monday, January 29 Anno 1 652. 

Also the answer to our request for restitution of the honorable 
masters' cannon, dated February 15, 1652, and signed Johannes 
Dyckman, Abram Staas and Jacob Jansz Hap. 

Upon the petition of Thomas Sandersz it is decided as follows: 
For reasons set forth in the petition and in order to be accom- 
modating the honorable court have upon his petition reduced the 
amount of the fine to thirty guilders. 

Whereas the question between the honorable director and 



188 Colon}) of RensselaersTV})c}( 

Jan Thomasz has been pending in court for a long time and no 
response or decision has been received from [the honorable 
guardians in] the fatherland to whom the case was referred, the 
parties absolutely submit themselves to [the decision of] four 
arbitrators, of whom each side is to choose two, two to be taken 
from the court and two from outside the court, to whom they 
leave the matter completely. 

The honorable director chooses from the court, Mons"^- J. B. 
v. Rensselaer, Mons""- van Curler is chosen by them both. Jan 
Thomasz chooses from the court, Pieter Hartgers. 

[105v] Court proceedings, February 22 Anno 1652 

Delivered to Mr Dyckman an extract from the deed of con- 
veyance of the colony dated August 6, Anno 1631. 

Also, a copy of the grant by their High Mightinesses to dis- 
pose of tlie fief [by will], dated February 5, Anno 1641. 

Mr Dyckman having once more proposed the question 
whether we would consent and approve to have the aforesaid 
placards posted and published, the honorable director, in the 
name of the board, has answered : " In no wise, as long as I 
have a drop of blood in my body, unless you show me first an 
authorization from their High Mightinesses or our honorable 
masters." ^ 

First Pieter Jacobsz ^ . , 

default T L T L ^- f Cited on behalf of the director 
johan Labatie J 

Director Slichtenhorst, plaintiff, against Jan Labatie and 
Pieter Jacobsz, defendants. 

The' honorable plaintiff, by virtue of the agreement, demands 
restitution of the patroon's cannon, loaned in good faith, or else 
claims damages in the amount of fl. 225 for each piece plus law- 
ful damages, because the plaintiff paid the board and wages of 
Master Steven and Andries de Vos in making the gun carriages 
and to give security therefor or submit to civil arrest. 



^ In the margin is written: A copy hereof was shown to Mr. Johannes 
Dyckman on Feb. 26, 1652. 



Court Minutes, 1 648-/ 652 189 

[106] 2d a^d p^^j^^ ^^^^i3^ 
Jd citations cind [►Clteci 

failure to appear Jan van Bremen J 

This is added 

here by order They are therefore declared contumacious and 

of the honorable .. .. . . iifiiii 

court, the 18th judgment IS given agamst them by derault, all sub- 
December Anno ject to proper accounting. 

1653. 

Court proceedings, February 29 Anno 1652 

Interrogatories drawn up for the examination of Gerardus van 
Wencom, Hendrick Jansz Reur and Jan Bastiaensz 

The honorable director asks the above named persons whether 
they do not recollect having seen on the 8th of this month that 
when Mr Dyckman, accompanied by five persons and his 
assistant, appeared before the court, he brought with him into the 
middle part of the house three soldiers, who were fully armed, 
namely, with their side arms, two carrying muskets with lighted 
fuses and one carrying a snaphance? 

The deponents jointly declare as stated in the foregoing 
article. 

Director Slichtenhorst protests and complains of violence com- 
initted by Mr Dyckman's soldiers on New Year's eve in having 
several times, contrary to the ordinance, shot burning fuses on 
the roof of the patroon's house and also on the house of the 
director, which is covered with thatch, so that the fore part 
of the house seemed ablaze and the director's son, in the intense 
cold, was moved to spring naked out of bed to extinguish several 
papers, and having therefore endangered not only the honorable 
masters' house, property and papers, but more particularly some 
people's lives. . . . [about two lines destroyed]. 

[106v] Secondly, the aforesaid director complains and pro- 
tests about great and notorious violence and maltreatment 
received by his son on New Year's day last past at the hands of 
Mr Dyckman and his soldiers, who suddenly grabbed him by 
the hair and at the same time struck him on the forehead so that 
he fell down and in the presence of the aforesaid Dyckman not 



190 Colony of Rensselaersrv^ck 

only beat him black and blue, but dragged him through the mud 
and mire and treated him inhumanly as if he were a criminal, 
yes, struck his children with their guns and threatened to shoot 
them, but were prevented from doing so. And that without any 
reason or occasion therefor in the least, so that from this cruel 
abuse of power a massacre might easily have resulted. And he, 
Dyckman, encouraged his soldiers in their evil work, while they 
thus inhumanly treated the director's son and his children, by 
calling out aloud: "Beat him now and may the devil take 
him ! " ^ 

Likewise, the aforesaid director complains and protests about 
violence committed by Mr Dyckman in coming on the 8th of 
February 1 652 with his six persons and three soldiers, armed with 
guns with lighted match and side arms, at the time that the court 
was in session, into the house of the honorable masters and into 
another man's jurisdiction, of which the director was informed 
and had knowledge only after the court had adjourned. And 
whereas no one has a right to enter another's jurisdiction by force 
of arms [107] except with the previous consent of the officer or 
the commissioners of the court, this tends not only to the dis- 
paragement of the court, but also of the authority of our supreme 
government, which is likewise represented here. 

Furthermore, the director complains and protests against the 
insults offered by Mr Dyckman on the 8th ditto in bringing his 
assistant and the 'aforesaid persons into the court and ordering 
him to sit down at the table and to make a note of everything that 
he, Dyckman, proposed, against which Director Slichtenhorst 
expressly protested, refusing to suffer it in any way and ordering 
him to get out, as he did. And afterwards, the aforesaid Dyck- 
iman again made him come in, against the aforesaid protest and 
the order of the director, so that violence prevailed over justice. 



^ [In the margin is written:] And when Dyckman was told that the 
scandalous treatment of the director's children would be avenged, the said 
Dyckman ordered his gunner, Pieter Jacobsz, to load his pieces with 
[ball], saying that they would fire through the director's house, as the 
said gunner himself confessed to the director and is well known to every 
one. 



Court Minutes, 1648-1652 191 

[107v] Citations: 

The honorable director causes Rutger Jacobsz and Jacob 
Jansz to be arrested in the colony and to be cited to appear on 
the 22d of this montH on account of the crime committed against 
the person of Albert, the carpenter. 

23d ditto, Jan Thomasz causes Claes Uylespiegel to be 
arrested and cited. 

Jan Thomasz claims that Claes Teunisz owes him fl.72. 
Claes Teunisz admits the debt as above. 
Jan Thomasz asks judgment or security for the amount afore- 
said. 

Claes Teunisz promises by handshake before the director to 
pay the aforescdd H. 72 in good fciith to Jan Thomasz within the 
space of five weeks after this date, binding thereto his person and 
property, according to law, for which he will give a note in due 
form. 

r Jacob Jansz Stol and 

First default J ^ , , 

[ Kutger J acobsz 

This day the director gave notice to Adriaen Huybertsz that 
he must leave his farm on the first of May next. 

[108] Extraordinary session, March 2 Anno 1652 

Information taken by the director about Claesje, a negress, 
being the slave of Sander Leendersz, accused of theft. 

She declares that she stole the following goods from her 
master and gave them to the following persons : 

To Jan Michielsz 
He gave her an Two Whitc blankets, taken by him from the 

old undershirt 

and promised her ° 

a new one and 1 bundle of bar lead, which he took himself 

a cap with lace. l £. H. 11 

*^ out or the cellar 

2 bundles of combs, taken by him from the 
room 



192 



Colon}) of Rensselaer sfvy^cf^ 



Catalyn Sanders 
denies that she 
loaned einy candles 
to him zmd adds 
that he said that 
the negress stole 
them from her 
and brought them 
to her. 



3 or 4 candles 
Again 6 candles 



She also declares 
tliat with tears in 
his eyes and folded 
hands he begged her 
two or three times, 
saying: " My dear 
Catalyntje, forgive 
me the wrong I have 
done you." 
He also prayed de 
Hoges to come sometime 
to console him, as at 
times he had a hard 
struggle and suffered 
great temptations. 
This took place at 
the house of Jan 
Verbeeck . . . house, 
on a ... afternoon 
. . . [five or six 
words destroyed]. 



He admits this, but says 
twice three, which she 
brought him. 
The negress declares that Jan Michielsz 
drew his knife and forced her to give him 
the lead and also asked for mackerel and 
beef. 
Also to Jacob Luyersz, as follows: 

3 yards of red cloth. He promised to take 
her to the Manhatans and that she would 
then get a husband. 
1 tub of butter, taken by him, saying that he 
bought it from her master, adding: 
" Your mistress knows about it." 
8 bars of lead 

Also a handkerchief full of butter, fetched 
by him on condition that shq should take 
it to the Manhatans. 



[108v] Court proceedings, March 7 Anno 1652 



Cited at the request of the director; 

First 

default 

1 



Claes Braebander 
Rutger Jacobsz 
Claes Gerritsz 
Aert Jacobsz 
Kees Schoester " 
Goossen Gerritsz 



and his servant 



^ Claes Jansz from Bockhoven, in Brabant. 
^ Cornells Teunisz van Westbroeck. 



Court Minutes, 1 648-1 652 193 

Jan Michielsz say that those who bring the aforesaid charges 
against him, lie. 

The director demands bail to the action against Jan Michielsz 
within the space of eight days. 

Jan Michielsz offers,to go to prison in lieu of bail. 

Jacob Luyersz admits that the negress showed him a cap, but 
denies that he gave her the cap. He acknowledges that the 
negress openly accused him in the presence of Jacob Jansz 
Stol and Philip Pietersz Scheuler.^ He says that he had no rea- 
son for taking the cap out of the negress' hands or for putting it in 
his pocket, except that he was dejected in spirit. 

The director demands bail as in the case of Jan Michielsz. 

Jacob Jansz Stol declares that the negress in his presence said 
to Jacob Luyersz that he had given her the cap in order that she 
should keep still about the butter. 

[109]^ Whereas Claes Jansz van Bockhoven, contrary to 
the ordinance of October 16, 1648, renewed on November 23, 
1 65 1 , out of spite, against the special prohibition of the director, 
had his servant, for whom he is responsible, draw [wood] for 
Lambert van Valckenburch, he is condemned to pay at once, 
according to the ordinance, three guilders for each load. Actum 
in Collegia, on the date above written. 

Present : 

Claes Jansz has satisfied this judgment Director B. V. Slichtcnhorst 

in the sum of sixteen guilders and ten . /^ i 

stivers, for which the director issued •'*• *^"" ^-'UriCr 

and signed a receipt on the dale above J. B. Van RenSSclacr 

written. t \ / i i 

Jan Verbeeck 
Pieter Hertgers 
To my knowledge, 

A. DE HOOGES, Secretary 



^ Philip Pietersz Schuyler. 

^The following lines are cancelled at the top of the page: Claes the 
Braebander says that he will pay the full fine, if he gets a certificate signed 
by the entire court, which he says he will then send to Mr. Stuyvesant. 

7 



194 Colony of Rensselaer Sivy ck 

Having seen the replication of the director against CorneHs 
Teunisz van Westbroeck, the same is put into the hands of the 
opponent to make answer thereto without fail within two weeks 
after this date. 

[109v] Court proceedings, March 14 Anno 1652 

Cited by the director : Claes Gerritsz. 

Pieter Hertgerts causes Teunis Dircksz to be cited. 

Goossen Gerritsz causes Jacob Lambertsz, shoemaker, to be 
cited. 

Teunis Dircksz releases and discharges Pieter Hertgerts from 
his obligation as surety for the palroon's interest as to the purchase 
of the brewery in the Grenen Bos. 

Extraordinary session, March 1 6 Anno 1 652 

Hendrick Westerkamp says that at the request of Commissary 
J. Dyckman he made an. affidavit concerning the former brick- 
yard, a little south of the first kill, in which he declared that the 
same belonged to the company and that they had a small house 
there. 

Extraordinary session, March 1 9 Anno 1 652 

Whereas Johannes Dyckman, commissary of Fort Orange, 
and his adherents by forcible means have ventured to enter the 
jurisdiction of the colony of Rensselaerswyck and to erect [three] 
several boundary posts, without serving notice thereof on the 
court, the court messenger is ordered to demand in the presence 
of the accompanying witnesses [MO] by what order and author- 
ity Mr Dyckman has undertaken to commit this trespass on the 
colony. And in default of any authority from their High Might- 
inesses, we are in honor and by virtue of our oath, in the name of 
our honorable masters, bound to have the said posts removed and 
taken away from their places, protesting before God Almighty 
and their High Mightinesses aforesaid against the trespass and 
pubhc violence that has been committed and demanding reparation 



Court Minutes, 1648-1652 195 

of ail loss and damage and calamities which have already resulted 
or may hereafter result therefrom. 

Sent to Mr Dyckman : A copy of the above resolution. 
Secondly, a short memorandum and deduction, dated 

March 19, 1652. 
Thirdly, an answer to the positive questions of March 16 
and 1 8, 1 652. 
The court messenger reports that he delivered the aforesaid 
writings to Mr Dyckman in the presence of Sander Leendersz 
and Jan Thomasz, requested to act as witnesses thereto, and that 
he replied that he would answer them this evening. 

[llOv] Court proceedings, March 21 Anno 1652 

Upon the petitions of Jan Michielsz and Jacob Luyersz it is 
resolved : 

Serves for apostil: The negress of Sander Leendersz first 
made known or gave publicity to the matter, whereupon, being 
examined by us, she declared as is known to the petitioners, to 
which declaration they are hereby referred. 

Upon the petition of Thomas Chamber it is resolved: 
Serves for apostil: The petitioner shall receive what is due 
him according to the contract. 

Extraordinary sessions, March 22 Anno 1652 

By the director the following were summoned to appear before 
the court: 

Sander Leendersz 

Catalyn Donckesz, his wife 

Egbert Dojesz, their servant 

Catalyn and Egbert declare that Commissary Dyckman on 
March 21 , [ 1 652] , came to the house of Sander Leendersz and 
asked whether the [negress was] theirs? Answered, Yes. 
Whereupon he answered: " [She must go with me to the Fort; 
she has slandered [honest] people and the case is not [being 



196 Colony of Rensselaer5Ti>\)cI( 

prosecuted."] Catalyn replied: "Not without the consent of 
my husband." The commissary said: " I shall make her come 
and have soldiers get her." Thereupon Sander [HI] was asked 
to come home by his servant, being at that time at the house of 
Willem Fredericksz. Coming home, Sander Leendersz asked 
Commissary Dyckman what he v/anted? He said he v/ished to 
take the negress with him. Sander Leendersz asked:" For what 
reason? " The commissary replied: " Because she has slandered 
honest people and the case is not prosecuted." Sander Leendersz 
said: " Mons""- Dyckman, not this evening, but come to-morrow, 
vv^e shall then see what we can do." Whereupon Mons"^- Dyckman 
angrily replied: "If you refuse me, I have the power to take you 
and your wife and your whole family and to ruin your house and 
to choot it to pieces, for you dwell on the Company's ground." 
Whereupon Sander answered: " I have nothing to do with you; 
I can not give allegiance to another lord before I am released 
from the first." The commissary said: "Wait, wait, until Mr 
Stuyvesant comes up the river; then I will teach you differently." 
Sander replied : " When Mr Stuyvesant comes up the river, I 
may perhaps have as much right as you have." Whereupon the 
commissary drew his rapier and threatened to run said Sander 
through, so that Sander in defending himself was stabbed, 
lliereupon the com„missary went to the fort. Sander Leendersz 
declares also that the same day he was by order of Commissary 
Dyckman summoned by Huybert de [Guyt] to come to the fort 
[ 1 n v] . On entering the fort, Sander Leendersz said: " Good 
morning Mons''- Dyckman, what is your pleasure?" Whereupon 
he answered : " I arrest you here in the fort. I understand that 
you have two commissions." Sander replied: "That is true, 
in fact, I have three of them, one from Mr Kieft, deceased, one 
from Mr Stuyvesant and one from the honorable masters of the 
colony." They jointly declare by true words and handshaking 
witli the honorable director, instead of an oath, that all this took 
place as stated. Dated as above. 



Court Minnies, 1648- 1652 197 

March 25 Anno 1652 

Philip Pietersz Scheuller declares that Mr Dyckman said to 
him on the 20th of this month that when Mr Stuyvesant came 
up the river and he did not care to see it/ he should see to it that 
he was not present, or go down the river. And Philip Pietersz 
asking: Why?, he replied that he would not have his father-in- 
law very long and that he, Dyckman, had written information 
to that effect. 

Philip Pietersz Scheuller and Robert Vasterick declare that 
it occurred on New Year's day, 1 652, that when, as more fully 
stated before, a soldier was scandalously beating the honorable 
director's son^ and dragging him over the ground in the fort and 
they, the deponents, as far as they could were trying to prevent 
it, the commissary [112] threatened to run them through if they 
dared to interfere. 

Catalyn Donckesz declares that Mr Dyckman, on the 21st of 
this month, said to her at her house that a gallows was being 
built for three persons and that upon her query for whom, he 
replied: "For Mr Slichtenhorst, his son and J. B. van Rens- 
selaer. 

They, [the deponents] , by handshake and true words, 
instead of an oath, have severally declared that the 
above took place as stated. 

Which I certify, 

A. DE HoOGES, Secretary 

March 30 Anno 1652 

The honorable director states that he and his son went this 
morning with the order granted [by the court] to the house of 
Comelis Segersz to receive the outstanding debt due to the 
honorable masters, but that Cornelis Segersz refused to deliver 
it, yes, what is more, that the loft door was nailed tight, about 
which the honorable director highly complains and protests. 



^ Meaning, the arrest, or execution, of Director van Slichtenhorst, 
Schuyler's father-in-law. 
^Gerrit van Slichtenhorst. 



198 Colony of RensselaersTvyck 

[ 1 1 2v] Extraordinary session, March 30 Anno 1 652 
This date Whcrcas Director Slichtenhorst by virtue of his 

defendant officc and his oath, upon a warrant and order from 
in court. the honorable commissioners went this morning with 
his people to the house of Cornelis Segersz to get a 
little grain from the defendant's loft in part pay- 
ment of his large debt, offering to give the defendant an acquit- 
tance therefor, and the said defendant, contrary to the order, 
refused to deliver the grain to the plaintiff and nailed the loft 
door tight, so that the plaintiff was not master of his promised 
grain and own ground and the defendant obeyed others more 
than his lawful authorities, wholly contrary to the oath taken 
by him ; therefore, the plaintiff demands that the defendant shall 
not only be condemned to deliver his threshed grain v/ithin twice 
24 hours on the plaintiff's loft, as is customary, but that the 
defendant shall remain under arrest until such time as the 
defendant has delivered to the plaintiff the threshed and 
unthreshed grain, and that in addition he shall be arbitrarily 
punished as an example to others. All cum expensis of this 
extraordinary session, of which the defendant is the sole cause, 
having treated the order of the honorable court with contempt. 
[113] Cornelis Segersz is hereby ordered by the 
This I read court within the space of four days after this date to 
Seaersz rcmovc knd bring one hundred and fifty schepels of 
in court. wheat to the loft of Gysbert Cornelisz from Weesp, 
under penalty of ten guilders for each day that he 
remains in default. And the aforesaid grain is to 
remain at the place aforesaid until the accounts on both sides 
shall have been delivered and judgment in the matter shall have 
been pronounced by the court. 

April 1 , 1 652, Sergeant Daniel Litschoo came by order of 
Mr Stuyvesant into the house of the honorable masters, leaving 
14 armed soldiers standing before the door, and asked Slichten- 
horst whether he was willing to take down the flag? Whereupon 



Court Minutes, 1 648-1 652 199 

Slichtenhorst answered, No, and that he had nothing to say here, 
unless he first showed authority from our honorable masters and 
their High Mightinesses. The sergeant replied : " Then I shall 
get it." Against which Slichtenhorst strongly protested. 

Likewise it appears that the sergeant and his 14 soldiers, 
armed with loaded muskets, when they were outside the yard, 
fired out of spite not only within the jurisdiction of the colony, 
but also came within the enclosed place of the honorable masters 
and by force hauled down the flag from the staff, against the 
will and consent of the director. 

[113v] April 9, 1652 

In accordance with the preceding resolution it is again resolved 
that the honorable director, according to the account in Ledger 
No. F, folio 12, shall pay to Adriaen Huybertsz three hun- 
dred and thirty-four guilders, fifteen and a half stivers, 
(fl. 334-15-8). 

By order of the honorable commissioners. 

To my knowledge, 

A. DE HOOGES 

April 10, 1652 

Pieter Rywerdingh having this day, without asking, posted a 
placard ^ on the honorable patroon's house, the honorable 



^ According to E. B. O'Callaghan, History of New Neiherland, 2:183 
and J. R. Brodhead, History of the State of Netv York, 1 :535, this 
placard was issued by General Stu5rvesant while on a visit to Fort Orange 
and contained a proclamation erecting in Fort Orange a Court of Justice 
for the village of Beverwyck and its dependencies, apart from, and 
independent of, that of Rensselaerswyck. The text of this proclamation 
has not been preserved, but it is likely that it was the same proclamation 
as that which under date of April 1 5 is referred to as having been drawn 
up by the director general and council of New Netherland on the 8th of 
that month The minutes of the court of Fort Orange and Beverwyck 
show that the members of the newly created court took the oath on April 
10, 1652, and that the first session of the court was held on April 15, 
the very date of the last entry in the record of the court of the colony 
of Rensselaerswyck presided over by Van Slichtenhorst. 



200 Colony of Renssclaersiv^cJ^ 

director protested against it, vv^hereupon the aforesaid Rywer- 
dingh answered that whatever came of it the Hon. General 
Petrus Stuyvesant would make good. 

April 15 Anno 1652 

We, the undersigned, declare that on this date Pieter Jacobsz 
tore down a certain placard of the court of this colony, which 
was affixed to the house of Gysbert Cornelisz.^ 

This declare: Mons*^- J. B. van Rensselaer, Johan van Twiller 
and Hendrick Jansz Reur. 

We declare that on this date Pieter Ryverdingh, court mes- 
senger of Fort Orange, posted on the house of the honorable 
patroon a [proclamation] " drawn up on the 8th of this month by 
the director general and council of New Netherland, against 
which a protest was made by the director of this colony, who 
thereupon tore it down, as well as the counterpart thereof affixed 
to the house of Gysbert aforesaid. 

Attested by the honorable director, 
Mons'^- J. B. van Rensselaer and Hendrick 
Jansz Reur. 



^ Gysbert Cornelisz, the tavernkeeper. 

'This word is omitted in the text. See preceding note. 



APPENDIX 

The following Inventory of effects taken at the house of Brant 
Aertsz van Slichtenhorst in 1652, and the debit and credit 
account of his administration of the colony of Rensselaerswyck, 
1648-1650, form part of the documents which were submitted 
by Van Slichtenhorst as exhibits in his suit against Johan van 
Rensselaer and the copartners of the colony. They are bound 
at the beginning of a volume of about 300 pages, marked: 
" N 15.3.= Renselaer C*- V. Slichtenhorst," which is deposited 
in the Rijksarchief in the province of Gelderland, at Arnhem, 
and which contains the documents in the suit instituted by Van 
Slichtenhorst in the Landgericht of the Veluwe and in the case 
of appeal of Van Rensselaer against Van Slichtenhorst before 
the Klaarhanli at Engelanderholt. 

Both documents are printed in Dutch as appendices XI and 
XII to Mr G. Beernink's biography of Dr Arend van Slichten- 
horst and his father Brant van Slichtenhorst, which forms No. 1 2 
of the WerJ^en of the historical society " Gelre." 



I 

INVENTORY 
Copy 

Inventory of all the effects, contracts, bills of sale, both old 
and new, and the accounts of the colony as to receipts, disburse- 
ments and the animals, for each year separately, of the entire 
colony, which at the time of Director Slichtenhorst's arrest in 
the year 1 652 were' left at the office in the custody of the young 
patroon Renselaer or afterwards turned over to him: 

1 Two tables, one in the front room and the second where 

communion service is held 

2 Two iron chains, or pothooks 

3 A baking trough 

201 



202 Colony of RensselaersTV])ck 

4 Two scales with several weights 

5 Four old andirons 

6 Two curtains, a small rug before the bedstead and another 

before the fireplace 

7 Three or four old chairs 

8 A small brew kettle with a narrow neck, obtained in the 

Creenenbos 

9 A brass-bound schepel measure in the brewery which was 

and still is in the Grenenbos 

1 Some stones lying in the yard which came from Rensselaers- 

teyn 

1 1 A book called de Inleydinghe van de Hollandsche rechts- 

geleerdheid ^ 

1 3 ' All the books of Mr Korler and also of De Hoges, received 

by the said Director 

14 Cornelis Maessen's account and inventory of his undivided 

estate, and the agreement [of the purchasers?] that they 

accept the land at the Manhatans for the purchase money 
1 6 " Also the court record and several ordinances, kept and 

issued by Slichtenhorst 
1 7 An obligation of Roelof Cornelissen, for which Van Essen 

is surety, of the 7th July 1 646 

18 An obligation of Dom. Bogardus, dated July 9, 1647 

19 A writ of attachment of money due to Broer Cornelis by 

Captain Blafeuvelt 

20 An obligation of Evert Pels, dated May 15, 1650 

21 Tlie copy of the contract of sale of the brewery, dated 

March 7, 1650 

22 The inventory of Quiryn Cornelissen's incumbered estate 

23 Slichtenhorst's account book of the colony, in which he 

settled with every one in presence of Mr Renselaer 

24 Slichtenhorst's account of receipts and disbursements 



^ " Introduction to Dutch Jurisprudence," a famous book by Hugo 
Grotius, of which many editions have appeared. 
" Items 1 2 and 1 5 do not appear. 



Court Minutes, 1648-1652 203 

25 Copy of Slichtenhorst's contract with the honorable guardians 

[of the young patroon], executed [at Amsterdam] on 
November 10, 1646 

26 Two ordinances of Mr Stuvesand of the year 1 652 

27 A resolution of the Director and Council at the Manhatans, 

or answer which Slichtenhorst and the magistrates of the 
colony received upon their petition for the release of their 
Director 

28 Declaration of Van Essen ^ regarding the two drowned 

horses, together with a petition 

29 A blue blank-book and an arithmetic 

30 A petition of the colonists, after they had taken the oath " 
Underneath was written: These aforesaid documents I have in 
part received from the hands of Mr Slichtenhorst and I know 
where and in whose custody the others are. 

Copy, marked K, among the documents of 
the suit of Brant van Slichtenhorst vs. 
Johannes van Rensselaer, 1656—61, in the 
handwriting of Dr Arend van Slichtenhorst. 

II 

ACCOUNT OF RECEIPTS AND DISBURSEMENTS BY BRANT VAN 
SLICHTENHORST AS DIRECTOR OF THE COLONY OF RENS- 
SELAERSWYCK 

1648-1650 

A. Receipts 

Brant van Slichtenhorst, director of the colony of Rensselaers- 
wyck, debits himself with the receipt of what the colony afore- 
said has produced during the period of his administration, as 
follows : 



^ Cornelis Hendricksz van Es, or van Nes. See minutes of the court of 
the colony of March 4th, 1649. 

^ Probably the oath taken on November 28, 1 65 1 . See minutes of 
November 23, 1651, in this volume. 



204 



Colon}) of Rensselaer sTv^ck 



1 648 The grain received from the Vlackte, as 
appears under A, amounting by bal- 
ance to fl. 
By tithes of Thomas Schamber/ 16 
schepels of wheat 
1 649, May 1 7 By amount assigned by me to 
Jan van Bremen, to be paid by Peter 
Claes, as appears on fol. 80 
And 1650 inclusive, received from Rutger 
Jacobs and Adryaen Huybers 
Feb. 8 Received from Albert Andries 
April 27 Delivered by Thomas Jans 32 
schepels of wheat, 11. 80; also 19 
days' hauling for the patroon, at 
fl. 5 a day, fl. 95 
Received from Teunis Cornelis 
Received from Cornelis van Nes 
May 12 Received from the guardians 
of the children of the late Cornelis 
Maess 
Received from Cornelis Segers 
Received from Jan Verbeeck 
Received from Broer Cornelis 
Received from Evert Pels 
Received from Jacob Hevick 
Received from Abraham Staas and 

Pieter Hertgers 
Sold two mill stones for 
November 7 Sold an old cow to Jan Labatie for 
ditto Sold an ox to Carel van Bruggen 

Received from Jan Hagemans for the 
right to trade 



115:12: 8 
40:—:— 

266: 3:— 

895:14:— 
6:10:— 



175:— 
172:15 
392: 6 



463 
923 
150 
128 
130 
20 

758 

320 

70 

44 

48; 



10 
17 



16: 8 



■^ Thomas Chambers. 



Court Minutes, 1648-1652 205 

From Goossen Gerrits for one year's 

rent of the brewery, from May 1 649 

to May 1650 450:—:— 

For the patroon's dues, one guilder on 

every tun 330: — : — 

From Goossen Gerrits for one year's 

ground rent and right to trade, from 

July 16, 1649, to date, 1650, 

received four beavers 32: — : — 

Received from Cornelis Cornelissen 

Vos, as above, four beavers 32: — : — 

From Cornelis Teunissen van Wijs- 

broeck for two years' rent and fod- 
der, at 3 beavers a year 48: — : — 
By sale of 16 sheep to Mr 

Stuyvesant fl. 208 

By an order on Dominus 

Megapolensis for the sale 

of books 80 

288:—:— 



1 648 and 1 649 

Sold to Hogers one cow for fl. 66 
Also 2 cows (5) fl. 40 each 80 

Also 2 goats and 2 lambs 20 

Also 2 window panes @ 

fl. 4-1 Ost' each 9 

175:—:— 

Sold to Steven Jans, carpenter, with 

advice, 2 goats and 2 lambs for 20: — : — 

By attachment of monies in the hands of 

Nicolaas Coorn, which were due to 

Hans Vos 51 : — : — 

Received from Henrick Backer 30: — : — 

^ Stivers. 



206 Colony of Remselaersw})c}( 

Jan Thomas and Volckeit 

Jans have furnished 1 1 8 

lbs. nails for the barn of 

Jan Berents @ 10 st. fl. 59 
Also 5 rapier blades at 

fl. 2-10 each 12:10 

71:10:- 

Sander Lenerts has paid by an order 

on Andries Herberts 50: — :- 

Received from Steven Jans, 

carpenter, 98 boards (a) 

16 St. each 78: 8: — 

14 more (a) 18 st. each 12:12: — 

91:—:- 



For 30 rapier blades, w^hich were broad, 
rusted and not merchantable, pre- 
sented to the [Indian] chiefs, valued 
at one guilder each, amounting to 30: — :- 

Received from Cornelis Segers 200 
schepels of wheat, by attachment of 
what was due there to Adriaen van 
der Donck 500: — :- 



fl. 7319:12 



B. Disbursements 
The following is the account of disbursements out of the afore- 
said funds, during the years 1648, 1649 and 1650 

'Paid to Dominus Megapolensis toward 

settlement of his account fl. 2997: 8: — 

Paid to Hoges 1365: — : — 
For making and covering a hay barrack 

on the farm of Teunis Cornelissen, 4 

beavers 32: — : — 
For purchase of the kill called Papena- 

kick and expenses, disbursed and paid 264: — : — 



Court Minutes, 1 648-1 652 207 

The purchase and expenses of Kastil 

[Katskil]^ 1239: 4:— 

The purchase of Klaverrack ^ amounts to 653 : 9: — 

1 648, August 4 Presented to the chiefs of the 

Maquas of the three castles 125: — : — 

Came short on the claim of 

the Maquas, anno 1648 fl. 225 
and anno 1649 100 

325:—:— 



Expenses incurred on account 

of the Indians Anno 1 648 400 

In the year 1 649 200 

In the year 1650 100 

700:—:— 

For damage suffered through lack of 

use of the garret and the cellar, con- 
trary to my contract, and caused by 

Vasterick and his family (de siin- 

nen) for which compensation must be 

made to me 300: — : — 

Paid to Andries Herberts 200: — : — 

Paid to Frederick Lubberts for freight 

of ten barrels of lime 28: — : — 

Paid to Evert Duyckingh^ for window 

panes 

To skipper Reynert Pieter Beth for 

bringing the panes up the river 3:10:- 

Paid to Abraham Pieters, carpenter, 

for wages, counting in his board 138:12:- 



44: — :- 



^ April 19, 1649. 

=^ May 27, 1649. 

^ Mr. Beernink, p. 1 67, states that Evert Duyckingh, at the end of 
his account, offered to burn coats of arms or marks in glass. He was, 
therefore, probably the m.an who made the window panes with the arms 
of the Van Rensselaer, Schuyler and other families that were placed in 
the church built in 1656. 



208 Colon]) of RensselaersTP^ck 

Paid to Roelandt Savery for setting 

panes 37: 5: — 
Paid to Abraham Staas 

by order of the 

honorable guardians fl. 139: 5: — 
Paid him on account of 

the patroon 26 : 1 3 : — 

165:18:— 



To Dirck Jans, carpenter, for mason- 
work^ including his board 9:10 : — 

Paid to Hans Vos for his services as 
court messenger for about a year and 
for wages and board 790 : 5:12 

Paid to Rutger Jacobs for taking the 
wife and children of Dominus Mega- 
polensis and their effects to the Man- 
hatans 20: — : — 

Paid to Frederick Lubbertsen for taking 
Dominus Megapolensis and his son 
and chest from the colony to the 
Manhatans 30: — : — - 

Paid to Frederick Lubberts for [pas- 
sage of] the Dominus who had come 

here to hold divine service, etc. 8: — : — 

Paid to Steven Jans, 

carpenter, for annual 

wages until August : 

13, 1650 fl. 544:13: 8 

and for board 137: — : — 

681:13: 8 



According to resolution of the court, 

dated November 15, 1649 
To Jan de Kaper for bringing Steven 

Jans, carpenter, together with his 

wife, child and baggage up the river 20: — :— 



Court Minutes, 1648-1652 209 

Paid to Jacob Hey for 
500 single [nails] @ 
fl. 1 :4 the hundred fl. 6: — : — 
and 200 double [nails] 
@ fl. 2:8 4:16:— 

10:16:— 



Paid to Adriaen Bloemaert 1 00 lbs. 
double sunddel [solder, or floor?] 
nails 4 beavers @ fl. 8 32: — : — 

Paid to Jan Appel for 70 lbs. of nails 

3 1/2 beavers 28: — : — 

Jan Appel has also delivered to Pieter 
Teunissen 1 lbs. of nails, to Teunis 
Cornelissen 20 lbs. ditto, together 30 
lbs., for which was paid 12: — : — 

Paid to Jan Labatie, for making a bak- 
ing trough, hanging the doors of the 
court yard (plaats) of the patroon, 
and expenses 7: — : — 

Also paid to Jan Labatie for nails fur- 
nished to Jan van Bremen at Beth- 
lehem, two beavers 16: — : — 

Paid to Nicolaes Coorn for 300 nails 

@ fl. 1 :4 the hundred 3:12: — 

Paid to Albert Andriessen for four 

hemlock timbers 1 : — : — 

Paid to Willem Fredericksen and Her- 
man Bastiaens for making two cots, 
of which one was spoiled 6: — : — 

Paid to Reyer Stoffels for altering three 

iron chimney anchors and for nails 1 : 6: — 

Paid to Andries de Vos for two days' 
wages for work in the cellar and 
board 7: — : — 



210 Colon}; of RensselaersTpycJ^ 

Paid to Beernt Gerrits for 
8 1/2 days' wages for 
work in the cellar and 
on the upper roof @ 
fl. 1:10 a day fl. 12:15:— 

and for 8 1/2 days' 
board 8:10:— 



To Jacob Hevick for 
15 1/2 days' labor in 
the cellar @ fl. 2 a 
day fl. 31 : — : — 

and for board 15:10: — 



To Jan Berents for 1 days' haul- 
ing as above at fl. 5f a day 50 
and for board 1 



21: 5 



46:10; 



To Huybert Jansz. for bringing 69 

schepels of oats on board for Dom. 

Megapolensis and to Carsten Car- 

stens for measuring, together 2: — : — 

In 1 648 and 1 649, until 1 1 April 

1650, Thomas Jansz. has 

hauled clay, dirt and lumber 

for 1 9 days at fl. 5 a day 95 

and board 19 

114:—:— 



60:- 



To said Jan Berents for [work on] the 

new buildings 202: — : — 

Paid to Jan Smith for 44 days' 

labor at fl. 1:1 — a day 66 

51 days' board 51 

117:—:— 



Court Minules, 1648-1652 211 



1648. September 14 At the leasing of 6 lots 
paid in premiums to the highest 
bidder in cash, as appears from the 
minutes 



6:—; 



Paid to Jacob Aryaens for a wheel- 
barrow 

Paid for a ladder 2:10:~ 

For my extra trouble and writings 
against Pieter Stuyvesant regardmg 
the buildings in the B]}eemvonmghe 250: — : — 

Paid to Gerrrit van Wencom for copying 

all the writings six times at fl. 5 each 30: : 

For firing by order of the honorable 
guardians upon the arrival of the 
Hon. General in 1648 a salute of six 
guns and on his departure three, for 
which, with the cleaning of the gun, 
was used 24 lbs. of powder (g) fl. 2 
the pound; also three days' board of 
Jan van Bremen and Hans Jans from 
Rotterdam, together 
Paid by order of the guardians to a 
squaw whose corn was eaten by the 
patroon's horses 
To 4 beavers sent by Rutger Jacobs 
for 2000 bricks from the north for the 
chimney and for the freight, together 
Paid for 2 reams and 4 quires of paper 29:—:— 

Paid for locksmith's work 11:16: — 
For 5 hatchets 9:10: 

For covering 4 sashes with 

cloth 3:12:— 

24:18:— 



54:—:— 



7:— :— 



35:—:- 



32:10:— 



212 Colony of Rensselaersw^cl^ 

Paid to Gysbert Cornelissen, innkeeper, 

for tavern expenses at the leasing and 

for wine for communion service, the 

toll on which is due to the patroon 1 76 : 6 : — 

Paid to Abraham Staas for tw^o large 

locks for the ankle shackles, one 

beaver 8: — : — 

To 4 1 /2 schepels of wheat sent to the 

fatherland 11:5 : — 

Paid to Jan, the boy of Cornelis Segers, 

for hunting up the patroon's boat 

which the savages had stolen 1 :10: — 

Paid for the purchase of the house of 

Jan van Bremen, now situated on the 

farm of Jan Berents 327: 8: — 

To commission paid for the sale of the 

brewery 23: — : — 

1 648 and 1 649 To the sons of Cornelis Segers 

for 3 days' hauling of heavy logs 

with four horses and for board 6: — : — 

Paid June 15, 1649, upon order 

on the part of the patroon for 

ransom of a French Christian 56 

and anno 1650 for another 

French Christian 6 

— 62:—:— 



1650, January 31 Paid in commissions at the 

leasing of the farms of Jan [van] 

Bremen and Cornelis Cornelissen and 

the sale of the two mill stones 47: — : — 
ditto, April 14 Paid to Christoffel 

Davits in settlement of de Hoges' 

account 6: — : — 
To Rem Jansen, smith, for ironwork for 

the patroon's house 27: — : — 



Court Minutes, 1648-1652 213 

By order of the court arrested Dirck 
Henricks, Claes Andriessen and 
Jacob Henricks, whereof the director 
has handed in a specified account of 
expenses 

Claes estimated at 1 04 : 1 4 : — 

Dirck at 118:10:— 



223: 4:— 



129:—:— 



For the reimburstment of which 
expenses security has been 
given. 
Paid to Vasterick for 

Dirck Henricks 115: — : — 

and for a hat 14: — : — 

Whereas the said Dirck by a judg- 
ment of the hororable court was 
ordered to go to Katskill in the 
service of the patroon, it follows that 
the director must be reimbursed for 
the monies advanced by him with 
interest 

In the winter of 1650 fire broke out 
three times in the patroon's chimney 
and was attended with great danger. 
The expenses of extinguishing the fire 
and bricking up the holes amounted to 27: — : 

Sent to the patroon 64 beavers (5) fl. 8 512: — : — 

Paid to Claes Tyssen according to the 

judgment and receipt 200: : 

To Gerrit van Wenkom for his services 
as Ueutenent-schout (deputy sheriff), 
for 2 years, at fl. 300 a year 600:—:— 

Whereas the guardians promised SHch- 
tenhorst by contract a free dwelling 
as van Curler has had heretofore, but 



214 Colon}^ of RensselaersJi>\)ck 

others instead of Slichtenhorst have 

enjoyed this and he therefore has had 

no free dwelHng, but a very unfree 

(onvrije, i.e., without any privacy) 

and forlorn house and small bam, he 

reckons that he has thereby suffered 

yearly a loss and damage of more 

than fl. 1 50, amounting in three years 

to 450: — ;— 

There is also due to Slichtenhorst for 

extra pay and all his expenses 309: — : — 

Due also to Slichtenhorst for expenses 

on account of colonists and gentlemen 

w^ho come and go and entertainments, 

yearly fl. 200, in three years 600: — : — 

Due to me for extra trouble and writings 

on account of Adriaen van der 

Donck 250:—:— 

Also for writings, trouble and expenses 

in connection with proceedings against 

Michiel Jansen 200: — : — 

Due to Gerrit van Wenkom for copying 

all the foresaid writings six times (a) 

fl. 5each 30:—:— 

Slichtenhorst is by virtue of his contract 

entitled to 4 milchcows at fl. 20 a 

year, which cows he, Slichtenhorst, 

has used not for his own benefit, but 
- largely for that of the lord patroon, to 

occupy the vaccint farms, in order 

thus to keep out the savages as far 

as possible, the more so as the savages, 

one after the other, even took posses- 
sion of the empty houses; amounts in 

three years to 240: — : — 



240:—:— 



Court Minutes, J 648-1 652 215 

Also for the promised horses at fl. 30 

a year, in three years 1 80 : — : — 

Also for 4 morgens of arable land at 
fl. 20 a year, amounting in three 
years to 

Also for loss of 4 morgens of pasture at 
fl. 1 a year each and the increase of 
cattle, amounting in three years to 120: — : — 

Also the late rumors, called the Maquas 
war, cost me in addition to other 
large presents 1 59 : — : 

Also to expenses connected with the 
arrest of William Juriaens, assessed 
by the honorable court according to 
the declaration at 1 18: — : — 

Paid in specie for five captured wolves, 

according to the ordinance 24: — : — 

Whereas the Director was commissioned 
in writing to go to the Manhatans 
about three matters concerning in the 
highest degree the jurisdiction of the 
lords patroons, the total charges for 
the trip are 131: 2 : 

To balance of accounts of Jan van 
Twiller, for money advanced to 
Frederick Lubberts. Also for 23 
weeks' board, which, being called 
upon to pay the same before his 
departure, he said in the presence 
of all the magistrates would be paid 
by the patroon. Also for 8 schepels 
or oats, amounting in all to fl. 160, 
against which there is credited to him 
fl.27, so that there is still due to me 133: — : — 



216 



Colon}) of Rensselaersrv^ck 



Whereas the seawan was reduced in 
value at the Manhatans, to wit, from 
six to eight [beads] for one stiver, I 
stated in a memorial to the honorable 
court that, as I had a considerable 
quantity on hand, I could not afford 
the loss. July 23, 1650, I was by 
decision of the court, referred to the 
patroon, the amount allowed being 
Still due per cash account 
1650, 28 Sept. Presented to the principal 
chief of the third castle who came to 
see us according to his custom: 



For clouts 

Four knives 

Four awls 

A fevv^ days' board 



4 
6 
1 
5 



Whereas I have had more than a hun- 
dred sleighloads of manure drawn 
into the patroon's garden and kept 
the clapboard fence around the yard 
in repair at my own expense, and 
my contract provides that the ex- 
penses are to be charged to the 
patroon and the same has cost me 
me at least one hundred guilders, 
there is due 

The amount of salary which according 
to the contract must be paid here in 
this country is fl, 750 a year, amount- 
ing for three years, to wit from March 
22, 1648, to ditto 1651, to 



310; 
1408: 



4; 

5; 



10:16: — 



100: 



2250:—:— 



Total amount due 



fl. 21118:14:12 



Court Minutes, 1 648-1 652 217 

From this is to be deducted the receipts 

specified above 73 1 9 : 1 2 : — 



Net amount due fl. 13799: 2:12 

This date, the 20th of January anno 
1 65 1 , the above account w'as ex- 
amined by the commissioners of the 
colony of Renselaerswyck, who 
found the disbursements to amount 
to fl.21118:14:12 

The receipts 73 1 9 : 1 2 : — 



So that there remains due fl. 13799:2:12 

Thus done in accordance with the instructions of the commis- 
sioners and of the Hon, Director Brandt van Shchtenhorst, dated 
the 4th of September Anno 1647. 

Done at Renselaerswyck, on the date above written. 

Was signed : Antonius de Hooges, Secretary and 

Commissioner 
A. van Curler, Commissioner 

Being asked for information in regard to the above account, 
Arent van Curler wrote on September 1 , 1 659, to Johan van 
Rensselaer as follows:^ 
Dear Sir and worthy cousin : 

Salute! There being a time for everything, this opportunity 
presents itself, which I do not wish to let pass. As to Shchten- 
horst, of whom your honor writes that he obtained a judgment 
for some thousands on the basis of the account of about 13,000 
guilders which the late De Hoges and I are said to have signed, 
I think it is true that we signed it, but that we approved it, non 

credo. Why is no attention paid to our way of signing it? 

Owing to the length of time that has passed, I have for- 
gotten the circumstances, but (under correction) it seems to me 



'^The Dutch text of the letter is printed on p. 245-46 of Mr. Beer- 
nink's biography of Van Shchtenhorst. 



218 Colon]) of Rensselaer sw^ck 

and my recollection is that we examined the accounts and the 
vouchers and found the receipts to be so much and the disburse- 
ments so much, but as to having signed, approved and ratified 
the same, I trust v^e did not, as the commission of the commis- 
sioners gives them power to examine and discuss the director's 
accounts provisionally, but the approval must come from the 

patroon and the co-directors. 
Miinheer, mon cousin. 

Your willing cousin and servant. 

Was signed: A. van Curler 



INDEX 



Accounts, to be rendered by colon- 
ists, 63, 146 

Adriaensen, Gysbert, attacked by 
Comelis Segersen, 88, 89 

Adriaensen, Jacob, the wagoner, see 
Aertsen, Jacob, the wagoner 

Adriaensen (Aryaensen), Jacob, 
wheelwright, fighting, 59, 86; 
denies fighting, 63; attempt to pre- 
vent director from making arrest, 

64, 66; summoned, 64, 86, 155; first 
default, 64; to give security for 
judgment, 65 ; surety, 65, 69, 91 ; 
case to be decided by referees, 65 ; 
attachment against, 86; fined, 92; 
examined as to fight at house of 
iSteven Jansen, 133; fighting with 
Kettelheym, 140 

Adriaensen, Maryn, schepen, 8 
Adriaensen, Rutger, see Arentsen, 

Rutger 
Ael, Blancke, 85 

Aertsen, Aert, see Otterspoor, Aert 
Aertsen (Adriaensen, Aryaens), 
Jacob, the wagoner, to serve out 
term with Evert Pels, 25 ; entered 
another man's service, 25 ; court 
order concerning, 26; wages at- 
tached, 50; attempt to prevent 
director from making arrest, 64, 

65, 66; summoned, 64, 175; to give 
security for judgment, 65; surety 
for, 65, 69, 91 ; case to be decided 
by referees, 65; fined, 92; testifies, 
97; debt, 175; cited Evert Pels. 
175; accounts, 211; mentioned, 51 

Albany, 18; Van Slichtenhorst's 
claim as founder, 13, 21, 22 ; pa- 
troon's office, 24; fair at, iii 

Albertsen, Hendrick, ferry master, 
135 ; Stol to carry out contract 
with patroon, 134, 135, 144; men- 
tioned, 49 

Albertsen, Willem, see Blaeuvelt, 
Captain Willem Albertsen 

Amersfoort, 14 . 



Amsterdam fair, no 

Andriessen, Albert, money due to 
from Jan Reyersen, 67; money due 
from Quiryn iCornelissen, 67 ; state- 
ment concerning Maquas, 127 ; ac- 
counts, 204, 209 

Andriessen, Arent, 35, 89, 127 

Andriessen, Claes, from Hilversom, 
44; ordered to fulfil contract of 
service, 82; accused of fighting, 94; 
taken into custody, 108; confession, 
log; attacked by Lambertsen, no; 
case adjourned, in; promises to 
give no cause for complaint, in ; 
fined, 1 13 ; questioned regarding 
fight at house of Steven Jansen, 
133 ; money due to, 135 ; attacked 
by Stol, 137; forbidden to molest 
Hans Vos, 139; complaints about, 
177 ; accounts, 213 ; mentioned, 138 

Andriessen (Driessen), Hendrick, at- 
tacked by Claes Andriessen, 109; 
summoned, 134; dispute with Plod- 
der, 160; sued by director, 72 

Andriessen, Jan, from Dublin, state- 
ment on killing animals, 144 

Appel, Jan, see Lotiwrensen, Jan 

Arentsen, Rutger, summons Cornelis- 
sen, 163, 164 

Aryaensen, Jacob, see Adriaensen, 
Jacob 

Aryen (Adriaen), the servant of 
Cornelis Vos, 177, 178, 181; surety 
for, 180 

Attorneys at law, lack of, 156 

Barentsen, Jan, see Wemp, Jan 
Barentsen 

Barentsen, Thys, de^bts, 167 ; granted 
delay, 167; money due to, 168; 
cited, 180, 182 

Bastiaensen, Harmen, case referred 
to arbitrators, 30; sued by director, 
31, 67; attempt to prevent director 
from making arrest, 64, 66; reply 
to complaint of director, 69; to act 



[219] 



220 



Colon}) of Remselaersf}>})ck 



,Bastiaensen, Harmeii — Continued 
as referee, i6o; house, 182; for- 
bidden by Mr Dyckman to erect 
house, 186; accounts, 209; men- 
tioned, 141 

Bastiaensen, Jan, examination of, 189 

Beeren Island, 11, 169 

Beernink, G. ; biographer of Van 
Slichtenhorst, quoted, 13, 14, 15, 21, 
22, 23, 207 

Bentinck ten Berencamp, Joncker 
Carel, 14 

Bestval, Juriaen, summoned, 48, 96, 
156, 174, 175, 176; transfer of 
property to by Pels, 70; acknowl- 
edges signature to contract, 107 ; 
surety for Gysbert Cornelissen, 
108; property attached, 132, 139. 
156, 174; farm of, 157; ordered to 
pay debts, 175 

Beth, Reynert Pieter, see Both, Rey- 
nert Pieter 

Bethlehem, 97, 103, 135, 176 

Bever\v3^ck (Beverswyck), erected an 
independent village, 18; court of 
justice erected, 18, 23, 199; men- 
tioned, 19, 23 

Blaeuvelt, Captain Willem Albert- 
sen, attacked, 178, 179, 180 ; cited 
179, 180; judgment against, 181; 
accounts, 202 

Bloemaert, Adryaen, not to take 
colonists to Manhattan withoiit 
director's consent, 88; accounts, 
209 

Bloemaert, Samuel, instructions re- 
ceived from, 131 

Boer, Pieter de, see Jansen, Pieter 

Bogardus, Anneke Jans, daughters, 

53 

Bogardus, Rev. Everardus, 202 

Bordingh, Claes, papers in suit 
delivered to Van der Donck, 84 

Bosie, Pieter, the Frenchman, sum- 
moned, 134; prosecuted for fight- 
ing, 184 

Both (Beth), Reynert Pietersen, 
skipper, 50, 123, 207 

Boundary posts, 194 



Bout, Willem Fredericksen, Marten 
Hendricksen ordered to pay, 31 ; 
mark as witness, 74; surety for 
Van der Donck, 82; summoned, 95, 
96; sued by director, 154; to act as 
referee, 160; summons de Vries, 
163, 170; mark of, 172; accounts, 
209; mentioned, 196 

Brewery, 86, 87, 105, 151 ; contract of 
sale, 202 

Brick, Reyer Elbertsen to try manu- 
facture of, 181 

Bridges, 141 

Bronck, Pieter, dispute with Joost 
Teunissen, 159; petition to have a 
tavern, 162; cited Otterspoor, 176; 
cited Thomassen, 182; money due 
to, 182; mentioned, 113, 149 

Burgher oath, 173 

Byeenwoninge, use of term, 22-23 ; 
ground around to be cleared of 
underbrush, 168; mentioned, 90, 
118, 141, 151, 211 

Cannon, borrowed f rorrt patroon, 128 ; 
court requests restitution of, 178, 
186 ; answer to request, 187 ; resti- 
tution if demanded by Van Slich- 
tenhorst, 188 

Capital punishment, only case of in 
colony, 12 

Carstensen (the Noorman), Carsten, 
summoned, 85 ; garden, 134, 157 ; 
statements sworn to, 158; accounts, 
210 

Carstensen, Jan, reported attack on, 
131, 138; sued by director, 154 

Casteels island, /8, 102, 130; leased, 

157 

Catskill (Kastil, Katskil), settlement 
of opposed, 106, 108, 116; land at 
promised to certain persons, 183 ; 
purchase and expenses of, 207 

Chambers, Thomas, sued by director, 
30; remarks about Claes Tyssen, 
31 ; ordered to start building house, 
31; dispute about brandy, 50; fight- 
ing with Kettelheym, 62, 139, 140 ; 
fighting with Vos, 62; complaint 



Court Minutes, 1648-1652 



221 



Chambers, Thomas — Continued 
against, 98; to renew alliance with 
Maquas, 129; animals shot by 
savages, 144; right to use pastur- 
age without charge, 145 ; mill near 
farm, 154; money in hands of at- 
tached, 157; cited, 162; complains 
of Adriaen Dircksen, 163 ; may 
hire another servant, 164; petition, 
195; accounts, 204; mentioned, no 

Christman, Andreas Johannis, placards 
signed by, 187 

Church, 75 ; staircase built on outside 
of, 141 ; coats of arms in, 207 

Claesen, Cornelis, see Segersen, Cor- 
nelis 

Claesje, a negress, 191 

Claessen, Pieter, sued by director, 33, 
43, 73; first default, 40; fined, 43; 
to fulfil his contract of service, 47 ; 
sumimoned, 48; claims unjust treat- 
ment by director, 43, 53; regrets 
using slanderous language, 54; 
surety for Van Es, 59; sued by 
de Vos, 73 ; Hans Vos to watch 
property, 74 , 105 ; house, barn and 
hay barracks, 75 ; released from 
bail bond, 76; ordered to let Jan 
van Bremen have horses, 76; left 
Rensselaerswyck, 82; money due 
to, 84; accounts, 204; mentioned, 
41, 42, 46, 53 

Claverack (Klaverrack), purchase, 
207 

Coats of arms, burnt in glass, 207 

Coeymans, Barent Pietersen, see 
Pietersen, Barent 

Coeymans, Lucas Pietersen, see Piet- 
ersen, Lucas 

Compeer, Tomes, see Higgins, 
Thomas 

Coninck (Keuningh, Koeninck), 
Thomas, boy to be taken into serv- 
ice, 69 ; wife, mentioned, loi ; cited, 
161, 162 ; ordered to pay for bull, 
167 

Constapel, see Herbertsen, Andries 

Coorn (Koorn), Nicolaes, acted as 
officer of the colony, 1 1 ; apostil on 



Coorn (Koorn), Nicolaes — Con- 
tinued 
petition of, 26, 70; attachment of 
money in hands of, 29; to render 
statement of goods received, 29; at- 
tachment against vacated, 32; 
ordered to present accounts, 40, 72; 
summoned in regard to slandering 
Hans Vos, 61 ; notice served on, 
72; money due to, 140; accounts, 
205, 209 

Cornelis, Aertje, 120 

Cornelis, Broer, see Teunissen, Cor- 
nelis, from Breuckelen 

Cornelissen, Claes, summoned, 163, 
164, 176, 177, 179; admits debts, 
168; complaint against his brother 
Gysbert, 177; fined, 178 

Cornelissen, Cornelis, van Voorhout, 
see Van Voorhout, Cornelis Cor- 
nelissen 

Cornelissen, Gysbert (aen den 
Eerch), from Breuckelen, ordered 
to deliver cattle, 76; animals from 
his farm for Evert Pels, 81 ; surety 
for, 107, 108; statement regard- 
ing Lambertsen, 142; cited, 176, 
^77- 179; acknowledges indebted- 
ness, 178; authorized to draw logs, 
181 ; mentioned, 142 

Cornelissen, Gysbert, from Weesp, 
tavernkeeper, summoned, 48; state- 
ment regarding Van Bremen and 
Vos, 57 ; statement regarding 
Indians, no; rent reduced, 124; 
dispute with Philip Schuyler, 132, 
133; granted a garden, 134; fight- 
ing at his house, 135, 140; drink- 
ing at his house, 136; attacked by 
Stol, 137; lease of Casteels island, 
157 ; garden, 181 ; Cornelis Seger- 
sen to deliver wheat to, 198; 
placard on house torn down, 200; 
accounts, 212; mentioned, 102, 106, 
108, 109, 141, 158, 181 

Cornelissen, Pieter, from Munnick- 
endam, commissioner, 10; referred 
to arbitrators, 30 



222 



Colon]) of Rensselaersn^^ck 



Cornelissen, Quiryn (Cryn), ac- 
counts, 26, 27; released from con- 
finement, 28; service with Evert 
Pels, 29 ; money due to, 35 ; first 
default, 67; horse drowned, 67; 
bond, 73 ; farm, 95 ; land to be sold, 
102; requests permission to erect 
a saw mill, 169; inventory of 
estate, 202; mentioned, 32, 58 

Cornelissen, Roelof, 35; accounts, 73, 
202 

Cornelissen, Seger, summond, 134; 
sued by director, 1521 

Cornelissen, Teunis, ordered to pay 
Marten Hendricksen, 31 ; farm, 
104, 1 15 ; house, 104 ; payments to 
by Dircksen, 115; summond, 134, 
162, 164, 165, 179; denies shooting, 
138; slandered by Dircksen, 151; 
first default, 162; accounts, 204, 
209; mentioned, 206 

Court messenger, duties, 55 ; ap- 
pointed, 159. Sec also Reur, 
Hendrick; Vos, Hans 

Court of Fort Orange and Bever- 
wyck, erected, 18, I99 

Court of Rensselacrswyck, erected, 
7; jurisdiction, 7, 9, 12; appeal 
from, 7; organization, 16; main 
settlement of colony taken out of 
its jurisdiction, 18; consolidated 
with court of Fort Orange, 19; 
minutes connect with those of Fort 
Orange court, 23; members in 1651, 
157; bell to be rung' when court 
convenes, 173 

Court records, extent of, 23; kept by 
de Hooges, 24, 120; original title, 
24; sent to Holland, 120; extracts 
sent to Holland, 159; listed in Van 
Slichtenhorst's inventory, 202 

Craloo, fair at. III 

Croaet, see Stevensen, Abraham 

Croon (Kroon), Dirck Jansen, to 
take the burgher oath, 182; house, 
182; accounts, 208 

Crynen (Quirynen), Comelis, 
arrested, 35 ; money due to, 35 ; bond 
signed by, 73', summoned, 73 



Davits, Christoffel, attacked by Van 
Bremen, 58; takes over Dirck 
Hendricksen, 83 ; statement regard- 
ing a horse, 86; sues Fairfax, 90, 
107 ; horse drowned, 91 ; taken into 
custody, 91 ; land to be sold, 102 ; 
sued by director, 107 ; to make 
good loss of horse, 114; default 
for failing to appear in court, 131 ; 
summoned, 134, 140; attacked by 
Kettelheym, 140; accounts, 212 

Day of fasting and prayer, Slichten- 
horst's protest against order for, 30 

De Caper (Kaeper), Jan, not to take 
colonists to Manhattan without 
director's consent, 88; took grain 
to Manhattan, 147 ; accounts, 208 

De Gooier (Gojer), Dirck, see 
Hendricksen, Dirck 

De Goyer, Peter, 103 

De Guyt, see Jansen, Huybert 

De Hooges (Hoogens), Anthony, 
commissioner, 16; in charge of 
colony, 17; secretary of the colony, 
17; main body of record in hand- 
writing of, 24 ; assault on, 2y ; 
sued by Van der Donck, 78; 
decision on Van der Donck's wheat, 
81 ; surety for w^heat, 82 ; payments 
to by Pels, 93 ; opinion regarding 
loss of horse, 114; judgment re- 
garding horse certified by, 114; 
protests regarding Van Slichten- 
horst's accounts, 114; letter to 
Governor Stuyvesant, 117; exam- 
ination of seawan, 118; court 
records in custody of, 120; at- 
tacked by Jeufiaensen, 122 ; investi- 
gation of authenticity of letter to 
Vastrick, 125 ; attacked by Stol, 
136;: decision regarding New Year 
shooters, 138; insulted by Lambert- 
sen, 142; decision on dispute be- 
tween director and Stol, 145 ; to 
act as attorney for Segersen, 156; 
books, 202 ; accounts, 205, 206, 212 ; 
signature, 33, 34, 30, 44, 55, 60, 6t, 
63, 65, 67, 70, 74, 77, 80, 81. 83, 88. 
92, 93, 94, 95, 97, loi, 112, 113, 



Court Minutes, 1 648- J 652 



22 



De Hooges (Hoogens), Anthony — 
Continued 
117, Ii8, 123, 125, 127, 128, 129, 132, 
144, 158, 166, 167, 170, 172, 174, 
180, 185, 186, 193, 199, 217; men- 
tioned, 54, 56, 57, 77, 78, 84, 85, 
loi, 115, 119, 130, 140, 157 • 

De Key, (Kay), Willem, dispute 
about brandy, 50; dispute with 
Segersen, 69; warrant of arrest, 
69; statement by, 70; appearance 
in court, 53; wife, 53 

De Laet, Johannes, instructions re- 
ceived from, 131 

De Princes, ship, wrecked, 79 

De iReus, Gerrit Theussen, schepen, 
8; mentioned, 36, 48 

De Vos, Andries, office of raet held 
by, 17 ; derogatory remarks about, 
23; slandered by wife of Van Es, 
44; Van Es not to molest, 57; in- 
junction served on, 57; servant, 
57; payment for mill, 59; sues 
Pieter Claessen, 73 ; surety for 
Davits, 91 ; arbitrator in case of 
Hevick, 99; stallion sold to, 100; 
requests director to state charges 
against brother-in-law, 143 ; ap- 
pointment as assistant to guardians 
of orphans, 154; petition regarding 
use of water and building mill, 
154; accounts, 209; mentioned, 75, 
188 

De Vries, Adriaen Dircksen, com- 
plaint about, 163 ; acknowledges 
signature to contract, 163 ; pun- 
ished, 164; released from confine- 
ment, 165 ; cited, 172 ; attacked by 
Nolden, 172 

De Vries, Cornelis, summoned, 163 

Dircksen, Adriaen, see De Vries, 
Adriaen Dircksen 

Dircksen, Jan, see Van Bremen, Jan 
Dircksen 

Dircksen, Jan, the Englishman, 
beaten by Claes Gerritsen, 53 ; sued 
by Verbeeck, 131 ; mentioned, 28, 
44. no, 113. See also Jan, the 
Smith i 1 



Dircksen, Teunis, appointed as surety, 
34; sued by director, 86, 145, 14O, 
149, 154; summoned, 87, 105, 116, 
174, 187, 194; notice served on, 96, 
108 ; to sell brewery, 105 ; grain 
attached, 107 ; agreement with 
director regarding land, 115; state- 
ment regarding Lambertsen, 142 ; 
punished and fined, 150, 152; or- 
dered shooting by night, 151 ; 
slandered Teunis Cornelissen, 151 ; 
surety for Jan Helms, 154; agrees 
to answer director's complaint, 155 ; 
cited Jacob Aertsen, 175; releases 
Pieter Hartgers from obligation as 
surety, 194; mentioned, 142 

Distiller}^, in Greenen Bosch, 167 

Donckers, Catalyn, see 'Sanders, 
Catalyn 

Doussen, Harmen, not to take 
colonists to Manhattan without 
director's consent, 88 

Doyssen (Dojesen), Egbert, servant 
of Sander Leendertsen, 70; sum- 
moned, 134, 195 

Driesen, Hendrick, see Andriessen, 
Hendrick 

Duyckingh, Evert, accounts, 207; of- 
fers to burn coats of arms in glass, 
207 

Dyckman, Johannes, to act as 
referee, 170; signature, 172; cites 
Uylenspiegel, 172, 173; request con- 
cerning wages earned by Jan 
Weble, 173; delivers to court 
Stuyvesant's writ of appeal, 174; 
cites Van Voorhout, 175 ; timber 
for house, 183 ; promised copies of 
deeds of purchase and conveyance 
of colony, 184; asks permission to 
post placard in the colony, 184-85, 
188; requested to return cannon, 
186 ; placards presented by, 187 ; 
answer to request for cannon 
signed by, 187 ; extract from the 
deed of conveyance of the colony 
delivered to, 188; copy of grant by 
their High Mightinesses delivered 
to, 188 ; soldiers of, complaint of 



224 



Colonvi of Rensselaer sTP^cJ^ 



Dyckman, Johannes — Continued 
violence committed by, 189; erec- 
tion of boundary posts, 194; dispute 
with Leendersen about a negress, 
195 ; remarks about Van Slichten- 
horst, 197; mentioned, 183, 194 

Eencluys, Hans Jansen, see Inckluis, 

Hans Jansen 
Elberts, Evert, 20 
Elbertsen, Reyer, permitted to burn 

brick, 181 
Evertsen, Tys, statement regarding 

Lambertsen, 142 

Fair, iio-ii 

Fairfax, Thomas, horse lent to, 86, 
114; sued by Davits, 90; charges 
against Davits, 91 ; fled from 
colony to fort, 91 ; ordered to 
furnish surety, 107; surety for, 11 1 

First kill (Rutten kill), 54 

Flag of the colony, hauled down by 
order of Director Stuyvesant, 19S, 

199 

Flodder (Gardenier). Jacob Jansen, 
mill, 27, 95; sued by director, 106; 
complaint against Jansen, 108; 
denies drinking, 108; submits dif- 
ferences to commissioners, 109; 
buys lumber, 109; drinking, 139; 
dispute with Hendrick Andriessen, 
160; fighting, 180 

Fonda, Gillis, 167 

Fort De Hoop (Hope), 34, 39 

Fort Orange, dispute as to jurisdic- 
tion of territory around, 17, 185; 
buildings around fort ordered torn 
down, ,18, 151 ; separate court for, 
18, 199; inhabitants alarmed by 
shooting in the Greenen Bosch, 151 

Francisco, Jan, 12 

Fredericksen, Willem see Bout, Wil- 
lem Fredericksen 

Furs, confiscated, 171 

Fuyck, origin of name, 151 ; houses 
torn down by soldiers, 151 ; men- 
tioned, 18, 23 



Gardenier, Jacob Jansen, see Flod- 
der, Jacob Jansen 

Gecommitteerden (Commissioners), 
temporarily administer colony, 10; 
duties, 10, 16 ; approved appointment 
of J. B. van Rensselaer as magis- 
trate, 166 

Gerechtspersonen (rechtsvrienden) , 
duties, 16 

Gerret, the cooper, see Jansen, Gerrit 

Gerritsen, Beernt, accounts, 210 

Gerritsen, Claes, confesses wounding 
Jan, the smith, 32; denies state- 
ment about trading beavers, 43 ; 
quotes Ruth Jacobsen, 44; sued by 
director, 48; given time to settle 
account, 52 ; accused of beating Jan 
Dircksen, 53 ; ordered to satisfy 
judgment, 71, 164-165 ; pays no re- 
gard to sentence, 85 ; decision on 
case submitted to referees, 127, 
168; court records concerning, 159; 
judgment concerning, 161 ; arrested, 
162; cited, 162, 192, 194; money 
due to, 163 ; complaint regarding 
director, 164 ; statement by, 164 ; 
referees chosen, 171 ; mark, 171 

Gerritsen, Goosen, 16; office of raet 
held by, 17; second default, 40; 
urged to accept office of magistrate, 
40; accepts magistrate's office, 41; 
takes oath of fidelity as magistrate, 
43 ; surety for Jacob Lambertsen, 
hi; opinion regarding loss of 
horse, 114; examination of seawan, 
118; permission to engage in tap- 
ping business, 123; discharged at 
own request, 137 ; decision regard- 
ing New Year shooters, 138; 
supervision of school, 174; mark 
of, 174; cited, 192; cited Lambert- 
sen, 194 ; accounts, 205 ; mentioned, 
102, 119 
Glen, Sander Leendertsen, see Leen- 

dertsen, Sander 
Gooier (Gojer), meaning of term, 

138 
Grasmeer, Rev. Wilhelm, 125 



Court Minutes, 1648-1652 



ll'j 



Greeneni Bosch, 21, 64, 94, 105; resi- 
dence of Megapolensis, 32; houses 
searched, 32; brewery, 151, 194; 
shooting in, 151 ; distillery, 167 ; 
brew kettle, 202 

Grotius, Hugo, 202 

Guyt, see Jansen, Huybert 



Hageman (Haegeman), Jan, sum- 
moned, 83, 84; sued by director, 
85; ordered sent away, 118; ac- 
counts, 204 

Hans in Cluys, see Inckluis (Een- 
cluys), Hans Jansen • 

Hansen, Volckert, see Jansen, 
Volckert 

Hap, Jacob Jansen, see Stol, Jacob 
Jansen 

Harderwyck, 14 

Harmensen, Marten, the mason, sued 
by director, ']2; no dealings with 
private traders, 141 

Hartgers (Hertgers), Pieter, office 
of raet held by, 17; first default, 
40 ; surety for return of horse, 53 ; 
wife, S3; lease of land, 74; levy 
on property, 87 ; attacked by Stol, 
136 ; nominated as magistrate^ 137 ; 
to take oath of office, 140 ; admitted 
as member of court, 143 ; fighting 
with Dircksen, 152; witness, 156; 
referee in case of Jan Thomassen, 
188; cited Dircksen, 194; obliga- 
tion as surety, release of, 194; ac- 
counts, 204; mentioned, 157, 193 

Helms (Helmsen), Jan, to receive 
grain, 124; dispute with Jacobsen, 
134; summoned, 134; fined, 137; 
surety for, 148, 154; sued by 
director, 154 

Hendricksen, Cornells, see Van Nes, 
Cornells Hendricksen 

Hendricksen (Henricks), Dirck, 
from Hilversom, ordered to fulfil 
contract of service, 82; taken over 
by Christoff^el Davits, 83 ; assault on 
Van Bremen, 94; summoned, 107; 
taken into custody, 108; horse 
drowned by, 109, 114; charges 
8 



Hendricksen (Henricks), Dirck — 
Continued 

against Croaet, no; fighting, 114; 
surety for, 115; ordered to Katskil, 
115; complaint a'bout, 138; injunc- 
tion served on, 139; accounts, 213 

Hendricksen, Marten, see Verbeeck, 
Marten Hendricksen 

Hendricksen, Rutger, of Soest, ap- 
pointed schout, 7, 8; does not hold 
office, 9; mentioned, 17 

Henricks, Jacob, accounts, 213 

Herbertsen (Herberts, Constapel), 
Andries, surety for Thomas Fair- 
fax, III; wife, 119; fighting with 
Stol, 135 ; to act as referee, 170 ; 
signature, 172;. accounts, 206, 207 

Hertgers, see Hartgers 

Hevick, Jacob, lease of house, 74; 
mark of, 74; sued t)y director, 98; 
examination, 98; decision of arbi- 
trators, 99; money due to, 104; 
accounts, 204, 210 

Hey, Jacob, accounts, 209 

Higgins (Compeer), Thomas, shoot- 
ing during the night, 103 ; statement 
on killing animals, 144; land at 
Catskil, 183; mentioned, 102 

Hoofd-officier (chief officer), 9, 14 

Hooge Berg, location of, 36 

Horse, sold to Gen. Stuyvesant, 81 ; 
presented to Gen. Stuy\^esant, 100 

Horse mill, 181 

Horses, speeding of, 50-51, 52; 
neglect of, 59; employment for 
other than personal use forbidden, 
59-60; exchanged, 100; cruelty to, 
152; used for teaming, contrary to 
ordinance, 153; removed to Man- 
hattan, 170 

Houses, ordered to be torn down, 18; 
torn down by soldiers, 151; 
Commissary Dyckman forbids erec- 
tion of house of Harmen Bastiaen- 
sen, 186; expenses of protests 
against destruction, 211 

Huybertsen (Huybers), Aryaen, 
notice to leave farm, 191 ; pay- 
ments to by director, 199; accounts, 
204; mentioned, 103, 104, no 



226 



Colony of Rensselaersrv\)ck 



Inckluis (Eencluys), Hans Jansen, 
accused of beating an Indian, 2g ; 
summoned, 48, lOi, 172, 180; sued 
by director, 56 ; requests permission 
to erect a saw mill, 169; denies 
fighting, 180; fined, 180; mentioned, 
211 

Indians, sale of contraband munitions 
of war to, 34 ; sale of liquor to, 97 ; 
drinking, no; permission to erect 
house, 131 ; cattle killed by, 144, 
145; house of near Fort Orange, 
166; accounts with, 207; see also 
Maquas 

Inventory of Slichtenhorst's office, 
201 

Jacobsen, Aert, sells liquor to 
Indians, 97; to deliver heifer to 
Reyersen, 100; refused to obey 
Director's order, loi ; to pay rent, 
103; summoned, 106, 134, 176, 192; 
grain appraised by, 124; fined, 137; 
sued by director, 154; surety for, 
154; judgment, 176; lease of farm 
may be canceled, 176; mentioned, 
97, loi, 134 

Jacobsen, Casper, lease of homestead, 

155 
Jacobsen, Franz, statement by, 94 

Jacobsen, Pieter, mark, 128; sued by 
director, 188; cited, 188; tears down 
a placard, 200; mentioned 190 

Jacobsen, Rutger, offiee of raet held 
by, 17; remarks to Claes Gerritsen, 
44; promised protection by Van 
Slichtenhorst, 54; surety for Jacob 
Adriaensen, 65, 69, 91 ; surety for 
Jacob Aertsen, 69, 91 ; sale of 
horses to, 97; takes oath as 
councilor, 99; arbitrator in case of 
Hevick, 99; surety for Abraham 
Stevensen, 114; opinion regarding 
loss of horse, 114; examination of 
seawan, 118; to take Willem 
Jeuriaensen on his yacht, 123 ; in- 
vestigation of authenticity of letter 
sent to Vastrick, 125; servant, 134; 



Jacobsen, Rutger — Continued 

decision regarding New Year 
shooters, 138; witness, 156; did not 
know of judgment, 164; successor 
appointed, 166; signature, 174; 
cited, 184, 191, 192; first default, 
191; accounts, 204, 208, 211; men- 
tioned, 71, 73, 102, 115, 144, 157 

Jacobsen, Ruth, see Jacobsen, Rutger 

Jacobsen, Teunis, summoned, 141 

Jan, the boy of Comelis Segers, 212 

Jan, the smith, 32, 169; accounts, 210. 
See also Dircksen, Jan, Englishman 

Jans, Anneke, see Bogardus, Anneke 
Jans 

Jansen, Adriaen, from Leyden, signa- 
ture, 95 ; sues Mynten, 96 ; permis- 
sion to collect debts, 124 

Jansen, Adriaen, Van Ilpendam, see 
Van Ilpendam, Adriaen Jansen 

Jansen, Albert, the carpenter*, 191 

Jansen, Claes, from Bockhoven, con- 
demned for hauling firewood, 176; 
cited, 192 ; to pay for hauling wood, 
193; satisfies judgment, 193 

Jansen, Cornelis, to receive a gun, 32 ; 
not to take colonists to Manhattan 
without director's consent, 88 

Jansen, Dirck, see Croon, Dirck 
Jansen 

Jansen, Evert, to support himself by 
tailoring, 35 

Jansen, Gerrit, the cooper, sued by 
director, 31, 72 

Jansen, Hans, see Inckluis, Hans 
Jansen 

Jansen, Huybert, de guyt, summoned, 
48; attacked by Paulus Jansen, 57; 
crime committed by, 175; accounts, 
210; mentioned, 196 

Jansen, Jacob, from Stoutenburch, 
remarks about Claes Tyssen, 30; 
sued by director, 30, summoned, 87 ; 
acknowledges signature, 88 
Jansen, Jacob, see also Flodder, Jacob 
Jansen; Stol, Jacob Jansen; 
Schermerhoorn, Jacob Jansen 
Jansen, Louwerens, 102; wife, 103 



Court Minutes, 1648-1652 



in 



Jansen, Mathijs, widow sues Jeuriaen- 
sen, 35 ; money due to, 40 

Jansen, Michiel, accounts, a, 34, yj, 
96; arrested, 34; appointment of 
sureties, 34; again arrested, 34; 
sued by director, 36-39; Appel files 
answer in behalf of, 44; has not 
satisfied judgments, 123; ordered 
to file answer, 124; attorney for, 
169; court decision, 169; men- 
tioned, 48, 214 

Jansen, Paulus, the Noorman, assail- 
ant fined, 25, 107; attack on 
Huybert Jansen, 57; fined, 108; 
submits differences with Flodder to 
commissioners, 109; drinking, 139; 
statement on killing animals, 144; 
mentioned, 35, 89 

Jansen (de Boer), Pieter, contract 
with Hans Vos, 51 ; mentioned, 55 

Jansen, Rem, the smith, sued by 
director, 72; rumors of war with 
Maquas, 127; drinking, 139; ac- 
counts, 212; mentioned, 59 

Jansen, Roelof, of Masterland, 
schepen, 7 ; daughters, 53 

Jansen, Steven, carpenter, quarrels 
with Claes Andriessen, 109; fight 
at house of, 132, 133, 137; wife ac- 
cused by Teunis Jansen, 132 ; state- 
ment on receiving beer, 143 ; wages, 
178; lot, 183; accounts, 205, 206; 
brought to colony, 208; mentioned, 
104, 109, 142, 183, 188 

Jansen, Symon, cited, 48 

Jansen, Teunis, sailmaker, 132 

Jansen, Thomas (Tomes), wounded 
by Evert Pels, 47, 52; sues Pels, 
80 ; court decision regarding, 93 ; 
accounts, 204, 210; mentioned, 71, 
74, 109, 182, 183 

Jansen (Hansen), Volkert, forbidden 
to carry on unlawful trade, 70 ; 
summoned, 83 ; to renew alliance 
with Maquas, 129 ; attacked by 
Stol, 136; dispute with director, 
184; accounts, 155, 206 

Jeuriaensen, Willem, see Juriaensen, 
Willem 



Joesten, Symon, summoned, 47 

Jogues, Father Isaac, quoted, 22 

Juriaens, Annetje, 119, 120 

Juriaens, Volckje, 119, 120 

Juriaensen (Jeuriaensen), Willem, 
sentence of banishment, 12; sen- 
tence confirmed, 27; accounts, 29, 
215; sued by widow of Matty s 
Jansen, 35, 40; sued for slandering 
Stol's wife, 88; sued by director, 
90, 154; acknowledges signature to 
contract, 113, 155, 175; complaint 
against, 119; apprehension of, 120; 
twice banished from colony, 120, 
122 ; punished and forever banished, 
121 ; attack on de Hooges, 122 ; to 
be brought on board yacht of 
Rutger Jacobsen, 123; requests to 
be released from confinement, 125; 
attacked by Stol, 136; not willing 
to carry out contract with Van 
Hoesen, 174; cited, 175; lot, 181 

Katskil, see Catskill 

Kees de boer, see Segersen, Cornelis 

Kees Schoester, see Van Westbroeck, 
Cornelis Teunissen 

Kerckbuurte, location of, 70 

Kerckhof, 75 

Kettelheym (Kuttelheym), Jochem, 
sues Lambertsen, 44 ; remarks about 
by Lambertsen, 46 ; persons slander- 
ing will be fined, 46 ; summoned, 48, 
96, 133, 138, 17s, 176; dispute with 
Lambertsen settled, 56; fighting, 
62, 139, 140; grain attached, 107; 
money due to, 132 ; sued by director, 
139; debts, 157, 175 

Keuningh, Thomas, see Coninck, 
Thomas 

Key (Kay), Willem, see De Key 
(Kay) 

Kieft, Willem, letter from patroon 
to, 10; mentioned, 12, 196 

Klaverrack, see Claverack 

Klomp, Jacob Simonsen, lot, 183; 
mentioned, 183 

Koninck, Thomas, see Coninck, 
Thomas 



228 



Colony of RensselaersTvy^ck 



Koorn, Nikolaes, see Coorn (Koorn), 
Nicolaes 

Labatie (Laberte), Jan, requested to 
arrest Fairfax, 91 ; witness, 108 ; 
borrows cannon from patroon, 128; 
refuses to be ambassador to 
Maquas country, 129; buys house, 
131; surety for Schuyler, 138; at- 
tacked by Kettelheym, 140; to send 
a certain negro to Gen. Stuyvesant, 
143 ; delivered to court Stuyvesants' 
writ of appeal, 174; placard pre- 
sented by, 187 ; sued by director, 
188; cited, 188; mentioned, 151; ac- 
counts, 204, 209 

Lademaecker, Philip Pietersen de, 

132, 137 

Lambertsen, Jacob, of Dorlandt, fined, 
25, 69, 107; sued by director, 44, 
141, 154; retracts remarks about 
Jochem Keelhuyn, 46; summoned, 
48, 194; paid fine, 56; ordered to 
satisfy judgment, 71 ; notice served 
on, 71; accused of fighting, 94; 
taken into custody, 108; attack on 
Claes Andriessen, no; surety for, 
in; default for failing to appear 
in court, 131 ; forbidden to molest 
Hans Vos, 139; mentioned, 138, 146 
Lansing, Aeltje, 13 
Laurenssen, Laurens, schepen, 8 
Lawyers, lack of, 156 
Leendertsen (Glen, Lenerts), Sander, 
serv'ant, charges against, 68; state- 
ments by, 68 ; surety for actions 
against his servant, 70; wife, sued 
by- director, 87; not to take colonists 
to Manhattan without director's 
consent,' 88; wife, 115; cited, 162, 
19s; slave accused of theft, 191, 
195 ; dispute with Dyckman about 
a negress, 195 ; accounts, 206 ; men- 
tioned, 49, 181, 195 
Liquor, sold to Indians, 97 
Litschoo, Sergeant Daniel, 198 
Logs, cut in patroon's wood, 135 
Loockemans, Pieter, sued by director, 
72 



Loper, Capt. Jacob, 62 

Louwrensen (Appel), Jan, appointed 
as surety, 34 ; files answer in behalf 
of Michiel Jansen, 44; dispute be- 
tween Pels and director referred 
to, 81, 92; sued by director, 83, 84; 
summoned, 84, 85, 86, 102; court's 
decision, 86; referee in case of 
Jacob Aertsen and Jacob Adriaen- 
sen, 91 ; money due to, 96 ; signa- 
ture, 92 ; accounts, 209 

Lubbertsen, Frederick, not to take 
colonists to Manhattan without 
director's consent, 88; accounts, 
207, 208, 215 

Luyersen, Jacob, dispute with Jochem, 
the baker, 167, 168; cited, 173; 
denies attacking Jochem, 174; fined, 
174; stolen goods given to, 192; 
statement by, 193; petition, 195 



Maessen, Cornells, see Van Buren, 
Cornelis Maessen 

Manhattan, first court at, 9 

Maquas, rumors of war with, 127; 
resolution to renew alliance with, 
128-29; accounts with, 207 

Masterland, see Jansen, Roelof 

Mechanics, allowance for board, 95 

Megapolensis, Rev. Johannes, resi- 
dence, 32, 70; losses by theft, 32; 
has Aert Pietersen examined as to 
his matrimonial intentions, 85 ; son- 
in-law, 125 ; slandered by Van 
Vechten, 149, 150; accounts with 
director, 159, ?o6; sale of books, 
205 ; leaves colony, with wife and 
children, 208; mentioned, 12, 15, 
41, 62, 88, 147, 208, 210 

Menten, see Meynten 

Me>Tiert, a carpenter, sued by director, 
72 

Meynten (Menten, Mynten), Willem, 
attachment against, 95; debts, 96; 
sued by Jansen, 96; ordered to 
shoot during the night, 151 ; men- 
tioned, 114 



Court Minutes, 1648-1652 



229 



Michielsen, Jan, apostil on petition of, 
28; sued by director, 154; cited, 
164, 167; debts, 165; cited Uylen- 
spiegel, 173 ; stolen goods given to, 
191 ; denies charges, 193 ; offers to 
go to prison in lieu of bail, 193 ; 
petition, 195 

Mill, plodder's contract, 27; near 
Thomas Chambers' fami, 154 

Musch, Cornelis, 169 

Neulewels, Jaques, statement by, 68 
New Year's eve, shooting, 13S 
Nijssen, Wolf, see Nyssen, Wolf 
Nolden (Noldingh), Evert, school 
teacher, 29; sued by director, 31, 
172; cited, 172; punished, 172 
Nyssen, Wolf, executed, 12 

Oost, Jan, wife, 148 

Ordinances, on driving patroon's 
horses, 59; on value of wampum, 
117; concerning shooting at night, 
138; against hauling firewood. 176; 
listed in Van Slichtenhorst inven- 
tory, 202 

Orphans, guardians of, 149, i54, I75 

Otter spoor, Aert, accused of fighting, 
94, no. III; surety for Dirck 
Hendricksen, 115; summoned, 169, 
176; cited Van Bremen, 176; men- 
tioned, no, 113 

Paerde hoeck (Parda hook), 68 

Papenakick kill, 206 

Patroon and co-directors, instructions 
received from, 131 

Patroons, see Van Rensselaer, Jo- 
hannes; Van Rensselaer, Kiliaen 

Pauw, Michiel, 9 

Pavonia, 9 

Peelen, Brant, schepen, 8; mentioned, 
127 

Pels, Evert. Jacob Adriaensen to 
serve out term with, 25 ; service of 
Quiryn Cornelissen with, 29; ac- 
counts, 32, ^2)< 202, 204; sued by 
director. 32' 52, 93; quarrel with 
Claes Tyssen, 33, 35, 52, 62; sum- 



Pels, Evert, Jacob Adriaensen — 
Continued 
moned, 47, 54, 95, 96, 161, 162, 168, 
175; servant, 48; wife sued by di- 
rector, 52; notice served on, 54; 
surety for Jacob Aertsen, 65, 69, 
91 ; surety for Jacob Adriaensen, 
65, 69, 91 ; transfer of property to 
Jeuriaen Bestval, 70; Gysbert 
Cornelissen ordered to deliver cattle 
to, 76; sued by Thomas Jansen, 80; 
animals for farm, 81 ; dispute with 
director to be decided by referees, 
81, 93; decision regarding, 93; first 
default, 96; acknowledges signature 
to contract of farm, ico; non- 
appearance, 117; decision on dispute 
between director and Stol, 145 ; 
acknowledges signature and debt, 
162, 163; cited Hans Jansen, 172; 
property attached, 174; request for 
lot and horse mill granted, 181 ; 
mentioned, 35, 44, 50, 69, 94> no, 
167, 180 

Peters, Stintgen, wife of Louwerens 
Jansen, 103 

Picquet (Picket), Michel, statement 
by, loi 

Pieter, the Frenchman, see Bosie, 
Pieter 

Pietersen, Abraham, see Vosburgh, 
Abraham Pietersen 

Pietersen, Adriaen, lease of house, 

167 

Pietersen, Arent, first default, 67; 
summoned, 85 ; payment to, 139 

Pietersen (Coeymans), Barent, sum- 
moned, 96, 97, 140; shooting dur- 
ing the night, 103 ; charges against 
by director, 143 ; case dismissed, 
146; mentioned, 102 

Pietersen (Coeymans), Lucas, brother- 
in-law of Jan Thomas, shooting 
during the night, 103 ; prosecuted 
for beating Willem Albertsen, 177, 
178, 179, 181 ; surety for, 180 

Pietersen, Reynert, see Both, Reynert 
Pietersen 

Pietersen, Tys, ordered to director's 
house, 87 



230 



Colon}) of RensselaersTv^ck 



Planck, Jacob Albertsen, first to hold 
office of sellout, 9; other offices 
held by, 10; not reappointed, 10 

Poest, Jan Barentsen, see Wemp, Jan 
Barentsen 

Poor, lot belonging to, 181 

Poulus, the Noorman, see Jansen, 
Paulus 

Poulyntje, see Jansen, Paulus 

Prins, Pieter, witness, 108; statement 
regarding Indians, no 

Quirynen, see Crynen 

Raden, see Raetspersonen 

Raetspersonen (raden), duties, 16 

Rechtsvrienden, see Gerechtspersonen 

Rensselaers Burg, 130 

Rensselaers Steyn, 11, 202 

Rensselaerswyck manuscripts, deposi- 
ted in Albany county clerk's office, 
24; turned over to State Library, 
24; largely destroyed by fire, 24 

Reur, Hendrick, Jansen, from Mun- 
ster, engaged as court messenger, 
159; salary, 159; lot, 183; exami- 
nation of, 189; statement by on 
proclamation erecting court of Fort 
Orange and Beverwyck, 200; men- 
tioned, 183 

Reus, Gerrit Theusz de, see De Reus, 
Gerrit Theussen 

Reyersen, Jan, debts, 67, 176; Jacob- 
sen to deliver heifer to, 100; surety 
for Ryck Rutgersen, 108; moneys 
in hands of attached, 135, 176; 
cited, 176; complaint about Claes 
Andriesen, 177; mentioned, loi 

Reyntgen, the skipper, see Both, Rey- 
nert Pietersen 

Roelofs, Catrina, 53 

Roelofs, Sytje, 53 

Rutgersen, Ryck, attacked by Davits, 
107; surety for, 108; sells lumber, 
109; grain appraised by, 124; 
moneys in hands of attached, 135 ; 
money due to, 176; cited, 177, 187; 
judgment against, 177; ordered to 
comply with ordinance, 181 

Rutten kill, 54 



Ruyverdingh (Ruerdingh), Pieter, de- 
livers to court Stuyvesant's writ 
of appeal, 174; placard presented 
by, 187; placard posted by, pro- 
claiming erection of court of Fort 
Orange and Beverwyck, 199 

Sabbath, observance, 16 

^Sanders, Catalyn, wife of Sander 
Leendertsen Glen, 115; summoned, 
195 ; statements by, 68, 192, 197 

Sandersen, Thomas, permission to 
settle here, 118; wife, 120; cited, 
184; sued by director, 184; fine 
reduced, 187 

Savary (Savery), Roelandt, sued by 
director, 72; witness, 158; accounts, 
208 

Saw mill, request to erect mill near 
Beeren island granted, 169 

Schepens, designated by patroon, 7 ; 
to be appointed hy Planck, 9 

Schermerhoorn, see Van Schermer- 
horn 

School, 29; petition to keep day and 
night school, 173 

'Schoolmaster, committee appointed to 
engage, 174 

Schout, original appointee, 7 ; first to 
hold office, 9 

Schuyler (Scheuller), Philip Pieter- 
sen, 13 ; dispute with Steven Jansen, 
132. 133 ; arrested, 133 ; requests 
permission to go outside jail limits, 
133 ; requests delay, 137 ; quotes Mr 
Dyckman's remarks about Van 
Slichtenhorst, I97 ; father-in-law, 
197; mentioned, 193 

Schuyler, Pieter Davidsen, 13 ; wife, 
148 

Schuyler Flatts, 30 

Seawan, depreciation, 117, 118, I55> 
216. See also Wampum 

Segersen, Claes, contract with di- 
rector, 88; surety for Gysbert 
Cornelissen, 108; grain attached, 
156; accounts, 156; property at- 
tached, 174; cited, 176. See also 
Segersen, Cornelis 



Court Minutes, 1648-1652 



231 



Segersen, Cornelis, Jacob Adriaensen 
in service to, 25 ; ordered to pay 
Reyer Sto£felsen, 28; attachment of 
money in hands of, 29; attachment 
against vacated, 32; derogatory re- 
marks about de Vos, 32 ; derogatory 
remarks about Poest, 2$; 89; 
acknowledges signature, 55; wheat 
in hands of attached, 61, 81, 82; 
request to be released by court, 68; 
to take boy into service, 69; dis- 
pute with Willem de Key, 6g; 
requests arrest of de Key, 69; 
accounts, 71 ; horse sold by, 81 ; 
ordered to deliver wheat, 83; sum- 
moned, 83, 88, 89, 90, 95, 10 1, 106, 
156; farmer, 86; sued for slander, 
89; lease of farms, 90; granted a 
lot, 90; canceled, 91; first default, 
96; to pay director, 106; account to 
be examined, 106; grain attached, 
107 ; sued by director, 154 ; granted 
a delay, 155 ; promises to deliver 
wheat, 155 ; requests that case be 
referred to impartial judges, 157; 
attachment against, 161 ; refuses to 
pay debt, and deliver grain, 197. 
198; punished, 198; to deliver grain 
to Cornelisen, 198; accounts, 204, 
206; boy, 212; sons, 212; men- 
tioned, 43, 44, 102 

Ship de Princes, 79 

Ship Soutberg, 8 

Ship Valckenier, 78 

Shooting at night, ordinance concern- 
ing, 138 

Skippers, not to take colonists to 
Manhattan without director's con- 
sent, 88; not to transport goods of 
persons in arrears to patroon, 102 

Slichtenhorst, Brant, see Van 
Slichtenhorst, Brant Aertsen 

Smith, Jan, see Jan, the smith 

Solder, see Pietersen, Aert 

Soutberg, ship, 8 

Stads Herberg (City Tavern), 27 

Staets (Staas), Abraham, commis- 
sioner, 16 ; offices held by, 17 ; levy 
on property, 87 ; bail for appearance 



Staets (Staas), Abraham — Con- 
tinued 
of wife of Sander Leendersen, 87 ; 
decision on dispute between director 
and Stol, 145; fighting with Dirck- 
sen, 152; placards presented by, 
187 ; answer to request for cannon 
signed by, 187; accounts, 204, 208, 
212; mentioned, 49, 62, 91 

Stevensen (Stevens), Abraham, ac- 
cused of fighting, 94; summoned, 
loi, 102, 113, 134; shooting during 
the night, 103, 104, 105; lease of 
meadow, 105; charges against, 110, 
III; surety for, 114; default for 
failing to appear in court, 131 ; 
ordered to produce witnesses, 131 ; 
admits fighting, 138; drinking, 139 

Stichtigeri, an Indian, 132, 166 

Stoffelsen, Reyer, payment to by 
Cornelis Segersen, 28; accounts, 
209; mentioned, 49 

Stol (Hap), Jacob Jansen, first de- 
fault, 40; complaint against Jan 
Van Bremen, 58 ; fined, 82 ; bail for 
appearance of wife of Sander 
Leendersen, 87; not to take 
colonists to Manhattan without 
director's consent, 88; slandered by 
Juriaensen, 88; wife slandered by 
Juriaensen, 88; statement concern- 
ing Maquas, 127; arrested, 134; 
charges against, 135; sued by 
director, 135; succeeded Harry 
Albertsen as ferry master, 135; 
fined, 136; to give security for 
satisfaction of judgment or sen- 
tence, 137 ; dispute with director 
about Hendrick Albertsen's con- 
tract, 144; delivered to court 
Stuyv^esant's writ of appeal, 174; 
placards presented by, 187 ; answer 
to request for cannon signed by, 
187 ; cited, 191 ; first default, 191 ; 
mentioned, 29, 133, 193 

Stol, Willem Jansen, sued by director, 
72 

Stuyvesant, Nicholas William, wife, 
148 



232 



Colon]) of Rensselaers'D>})c^ 



StujTresant, Peter, controversy with 
Van Slichtenhorst, 17; proclama- 
tion of day of fasting and prayer, 
30; protection promised Rutger 
Jacobsen from, 54; nephew, 72; 
horse sold to, 8r ; protests against 
taking possession of Catskill, 106; 
letter from director to on settle- 
ment of Catskill, 116; ordinance 
regulating wampum, 117; director 
consents to certain requests of, 143 ; 
signs writ of appeal, 174; placard 
from, Mr Dyckman proposes to 
post, 184-85, 188; claims ground 
around Fort Orange, 1S5 ; orders 
flag of colony hauled down, 198 ; 
accounts, 205 ; mentioned, 102, 196, 
211 

Swart, Gerard, officer of justice, 19 

Taverns, director requests that but 

two be allowed, 162 
Teller (Teyller), Willem, complaint 

against Chambers, 98 ; mentioned. 

Teunis, the servant, 103 

Teunissen, Claes, sec Uylenspiegel, 
Claes Teunissen 

Teunissen (Theunisen, Toenisen), 
'Cornells, from Breuckelen, com- 
missioner, 10; accounts, 26, 27, 29, 
32, S3, 71, 204; appeals from de- 
cision of court, 32 ; gives up lease 
of farm, 71 ; requests fielay in 
case, 71, 73; accuses Slichtenhorst 
of changing contract, 72 ; sum- 
moned, 84, 85, 86, 113; order is- 
sued to regarding Tys Pietersen, 
87 ; notice served on, 108 ; to renew 
alliance ,with Maquas, 129; garden 
sold with his consent, 158; debts, 
163; mentioned, 35. 47. 48, 52. 105, 
119. 127, 143. 149, 202 

Teunissen, Cornells, see also Van 
Westbroeck, Cornells Teunissen 

Teunissen, Jeuriaen, glazier, lot, 181 ; 
mentioned. 183 

Teunissen, Joost, from Norden, dis- 
pute with Bronck, 159; fined, 160 



Teunissen, Pieter, wheat, 96; farm, 
115; land at Catskill, 183; cited, 
186, 187; judgment against, 189; 
accounts, 209 

Teyller, Willem, see Teller, Willem 

Theusz, Gerrit, see De Reus, Gerrit 
Theussen 

Thomassen (Tomensen), Jan, re- 
marks about Claes Tyssen, 30; con- 
tract about building house, 31 ; con- 
tract canceled by director, 70; sum- 
moned, 83, 84; accounts with pa- 
troon, 155; brother-in-law, 177, 178, 
179, 180, 181 ; dispute with director, 
184; case submitted to referees, 
188 ; cites Uylenspiegel, 191 ; ac- 
counts, 206; mentioned, 195 

Thomassen, Paulus, cited, 182 ; ad- 
mits debts, 182; land at Catskill, 

183 

Thymensen, Reynier, 50 

Toenys, Jacob, attempt to arrest, 64, 
66, 67 

Toepacht, 15, 96, 148, 150 

Trading house, 62, 74 

Tyssen (Tysschen), Claes, remarks 
concerning, 30, 35 ; beaten by Evert 
Pels, 33, 35. 47; wages, 47; Pels 
ordered to pay, 52, 54, 63 ; accounts 
with Van der Donck, 82; decision 
regarding dispute with Pels, 93 ; 
payments to, 117; accounts, 213; 
mentioned, 32, 33 

Tyssen, Jan, summoned, 134 

Uyl, den (Stichtigeri), an Indian, 
131, 132, 166 

Uylenspiegel, Claes Teunissen. denies 
calling Claes Tysschen an informer, 
30; sued by director, 30, 50; speed- 
ing horses, 46, 47. 5^ ". fined, 46, 52; 
director demands he be banished 
from colony, 5:; accounts, 157; 
cited, t6i, 162, 164, 172, 173, 191; 
debts, 191 

Valckenier, ship, 78 
Van Alckmaer, Adriaen Pietersen, see 
Pietersen, Adriaen 



Court MinutesJ 648-1 652 



233 



Van Bremen, Jan Dircksen, fined, 28, 
58; account of, 26; accusation 
against, 29; dispute with Vos, 57, 
58; complaint against by Stol, 58; 
to have copy of directors com- 
plaint, 03; horses, 76; money due 
to, 83; debts, 84; money in hands 
of attaclied, 84; complaint about 
assault, 93; farm, 102; attacked by 
Davits, 107; fighting v\?ith Croaet, 
no. III; statement about fighting, 
114; grain of, 124; to serve notice 
on Dirck Hendricksen, 139; com- 
plaints against Kettelheym, 140; 
cited, 176, 186, 187, 189; land at 
Catskill, 183; acknowledges signa- 
ture to contract, 187; judgment 
against, 189; accounts, 204, 209, 
211, 212; mentioned, 109, no, 131, 

159 
Van Breuckelen, Cornells Teunissen, 

see Teunissen, 'Cornells 

Van Bruggen, Carel, see Verbrugge, 
Carel 

Van Buren, Cornelis Maessen, 48 ; ad- 
ministrators of estate, 145; guard- 
ians of minor children, 149, 154, 
175 ; accounts, 202 ; accounts witli 
guardians of children, 204; men- 
tioned, 176 

Van Curler (Korler, Corlaer), Arent, 
sent out as assistant to Planck, 10 ; 
commissioner, 10; offices held by, 
17 ; allowance for board of me- 
chanics, 95 ; horses, 100 ; to renew 
alliance with Maquas, 129; accepts 
office of commissioner, 137 ; de- 
cision regarding New Year shoot- 
ers, 138; signature, 144, 174, 185, 
186, 217, 218; decision on dispute 
between director and Stol, 145 ; wit- 
ness, 158; supervision of school, 
174; money in hands of attached, 
175 ; referee in case of Jan 
Thomassen, 188; books, 202; letter 
to Johan van Rensselaer, 217; men- 
tioned, IS, 16, 43, 156, 157, 186, 
193. 213 



\^an den Bogaert, Harmen Meyndert- 
sen, pursuit by Vos, 105 

Van der Donck, Adriaen, commis- 
sioned officer of justice, 10; suc- 
cessor to, 11; patroon's letter to, 
12; debts, 29, 82; to collect money 
for Hans Vos, 32; petition pre- 
sented by, 60; dispute with Di- 
rector regarding payment for ani- 
mals, 61 ; insulted by Jacob Aert- 
sen, 67; horse drowned, 68; wheat 
attached, 61, 76, 77, 82; court de- 
cision concerning wheat, 78; sells 
interest in farm, 78; to leave the 
colony, 78; sued de Hooges, 78; 
agreement with Van Slichtenhorst 
regarding dispute, 79; dispute be- 
tween Pels and Director referred 
to, 81, 92; may not receive or un- 
load wheat, 81 ; attachment against 
by Claes Tyssen, 82; sued by di- 
rector, 84; referee in case of Jacob 
Aertsen and Jacob Adriaensen, 91 ; 
signature, 92; accounts, 206; men- 
tioned, 28, 130, 214 

Van der Schuer, Pieter, 15, 19 

Van Dorlandt, Jacob Lambertsen, see 
Lambertsen, Jacob 

Van Es, Cornelis Hendricksen, see 
Van Nes, Cornelis Hendricksen 

Van Hoesen, Jan, complains against 
Jeuriaensen, 119; wife slandered, 
119; Jeuriaensen's contract with, 
174; granted lot of Jeuriaensen, 
181 ; injunction issued to, regarding 
Wesselsen, 182; mentioned, 182 

Van Ilpendam, Adriaen Jansen, 
schoolmaster, witness, 132 ; petition 
of, 173; day and night school, 173 

Van Leyden, Adriaen Jansen, see Jan- 
sen, Adriaen, from Leyden 

Van Munnrckendam, Pieter Comelis- 
sen, see Cornelissen, Pieter 

Van Nes (Es, Essen), Cornelis 
Hendricksen, sued by director, 33, 
41. 45 r 73', and wife sued by di- 
director, 33, 44; arrest of Quiry- 
nen at request of, 35; first default. 



234 



Colony of RensselaersTvyck 



Van Nes (Es, Essen), Cornelis 
Hendricksen — Continued 
40; fined, 42; testimony about to 
be given, 48 ; slandered director, 53 ; 
regrets using slanderous language, 
54; contract regarding farm, 56; in- 
junction served on, 57; statement 
regarding, 58; surety for 59; wed- 
ding of daughters, 67 ; asked to pay 
bond, 73 ; bond signed by, 73 ; Hans 
Vos to watch property, 74, 105 ; 
summoned, lOi, 105 ; declaration of 
regarding drowned horses, 203 ; ac- 
counts, 204; mentioned, 76, 113, 202 

Van Rensselaer, Jan Baptist, director, 
19; appointed magistrate, 166; sig- 
nature, 185, 186; referee in case of 
Jan Thomassen, 188; Mr Dyck- 
man's remarks about, 197 ; statement 
by on proclamation erecting court 
of Fort Orange and Beverwyck, 
200; mentioned, 186, 193 

Van Rensselaer, Johannes, guard- 
ians, II, 26, 184; second patroon, 
117, 118; death, 20; instructions re- 
ceived from, 131 ; exhibits in Van 
Slichtenhorst's suit against, 201, 
203 ; letter to from Van Curler, 217 

Van Rensselaer, Kiliaen, court 
erected by. 7; memorial presented 
to the West India company, 8; 
date of death, 11, 118; succeeded as 
patroon by his eldest son Johan- 
nes, II, 26 » 

Van Schaiok, Gerrit, 13 

Van Schaick, Goosen Gerritsen, see 
Gerritsen, Goosen 

Van Schelluyne, Dirck, attorney for 
Michiel Jansen, 169; to act as 
referee, -170; signature, 172 

Van Schermerhorn, Jacob Jansen, 
sued by director, 72 ; arrested, loi ; 
produce from garden sold to, 158 

Van Schoonderwoert, Rutger Jacob- 
sen, see Jacobsen, Rutger 

Van Slichtenhorst, Aeltje, or Alida, 

13, 148 
Van Slichtenhorst, Arend, historian, 
13, 20. 201, 203 



Van Slichtenhorst, Bata, 148 
Van Slichtenhorst, Brant Aertsen, 
recommended for schout, 9; suc- 
ceeds Van der Donck, 1 1 ; appointed 
director of colony, 11, 203; arrival 
in colony, 13; sketch of, 13-14; 
wife, 13, 15 ; children, 13 ; contro- 
versy with Stuyvesant, 17; protests 
against erection of court of Fort 
Orange and Beverwyck, 19; ar- 
rested, 19; returns to the Nether- 
lands, 19; actions against the pa- 
troon, 20; completes historical work 
of his son Arend, 20; death, 20; 
character, 20; his claim to being 
called the founder of Albany, 21- 
23 ; entries by in court record, 24 ; 
protest against Stuyvesant's proc- 
lamation of day of fasting and 
prayer, 30; signature, 36, 39, 53, 
54, 74, 88, 132, 174, 185, 186; state- 
ment about Claes Gerritsen, 43; 
slandered by Van Nes, 53 ; promises 
to indemnify Rutger Jacobsen, 54; 
to release grain attached by him, 
60; son, 64, 66; garden, 75; deci- 
sion on Van der Donck's wheat, 81 ; 
requested to render his account to 
the commissioners, 114; refused to 
let de Hooges have custody of 
court records, 120; investigation of 
authenticity of letter to Vastrick, 
125 ; accused of violence, 164 ; ar- 
rest, 197, 201 ; inventory of effects 
taken at house of, 201-3; exhibits 
in his suit against Johan van Rens- 
selaer, 201, 203; account of re- 
ceipts and disbursements by, 203- 
17; mentioned, 13, 31, 54, HQ, 157 
Van Slichtenhorst, Elizabeth, 148. 
Van Slichtenhorst, Gerrit, director's 
son, 13, 15, 66, 197; children, 148 
Van Slichtenhorst, Gerrit, director's 

grandson, 148 
Van Slichtenhorst, Goudje, or Hille- 

gonda, 13, 15, 148 
Van Slichtenhorst, Margaret, 13, 15 
Van Slichtenhorst, Rachel, 148 
Van Slichtenhorst, Yonde, 148 



Court Minutes, 1648-1652 



235 



Van Slyck, Cornelis, see Teunissen, 
Cornells, from Breuckelen 

Van Stoutenburch, Jacob Jansen, see 
Jansen, Jacob, from Stoutenburch 

Van Tienhoven, Cornelis, secretary, 
signature, 60 

Van Twiller, Jan (Johannes), offices 
held byj 17; mark as witness, 74; 
decision on Van der Donck's wheat, 
81 ; sells horse to Gen. Stuyvesant, 
81 ; signature, 81 ; opinion regard- 
ing loss of horse, 114; witness, 
115; examination of seawan, 118; 
court records delivered to, 120; 
charges for board, 124; statement 
by on proclamation erecting court 
of Fort Orange and Beverwyck, 
200; accounts, 215; mentioned, 84, 
119, 126 

Van Twiller, Wouter, arrival at New 
Amsterdam, 8; letter of patroon to, 
9; guardian for Johannes van 
Rensselaer, 11, 26; mentioned, 14, 

125 

Van Valckenburgh, Lambert, 193; 
sued by director, 72 

Van Vechten, Teunis Dircksen, see 
Dircksen, Teunis 

Van Voorhout, Cornelis Cornelisen, 
summoned, 134, 138, 173, 175; sued 
by director, 140 ; debts, 161 ; prop- 
erty attached, 174; accounts, 212 

Van Voorhout, Cornelis Segersen, 
see Segersen, Cornelis 

Van Vorst, Cornelis, 9 

Van Wassenaer, Nicolaes, quoted, 9 

Van Wely, Johan, guardian for Jo- 
hannes van Rensselaer, 11, 26 

Van Wenckum, Aeltje, wife of Van 
Slichtenhorst, 13; death, 15 

Van Wenckum (Wen com), Gerrit, 
Van Slichtenhorst's assistant, 11; 
record partly in his handwriting, 
24 ; director's nephew, 66 ; assaulted 
by drunken Indian, 97; to renew 
alliance with Maquas, 129; exami- 
nation of, 189; paid for copying, 
211, 214; salary as deputy sheriff, 
213; mentioned, 15 



Van Westbroeck, Cornelis Teunissen, 
forbidden to carry on unlawful 
trade, 70; surety for Jacob Lam- 
bertsen, iii; denies slandering Vos, 
113; ordered to send Jan Hagemans 
away, 118; sued by director, 145, 
154; guardian of minor children of 
Cornelis Maessen, 149, 175 ; surety 
for Aert Jacobsen, 154; cited Aert- 
sen, 175;^ cited, 176, 177, 192; 
judgment, 176; director's complaint 
against, 178; debts, 179; granted 
delay, 180; offers security for judg- 
ment, 181 ; replication of director 
against, 194; accounts, 205 

Vasterick, Gerrit, to appear in court, 
84; examination of seawan, 118; 
letter to, concerning a minister, 
Grasmeer, 125 ; accusations against, 
126 ; gold sold to, 141 ; witness, 
158; summons Pels, 168; accounts, 
207, 213; mentioned, 119 

Vasterick, Robert, surety for Lucas 
and Aryen, 180; cited, 180; state- 
ment about Mr Dyckman, 197 

Verbeeck, Jan, office of raet held by, 
17; apostil on petition of, 28; 
debts, 40; servant of, 64, 66, 67; 
sues Dircksen, 131 ; nominated as 
magistrate, 137; to take oath of 
office, 140; admitted as member of 
the court, 141; accounts, 157, 204; 
signature, 186; mentioned, 64, 67, 
84, 144, 152, 157, 192, 193 

Verbeeck, Marten Hendricksen, de- 
mand for payment of accounts, 31; 
ordered to pay Willem Frederick- 
sen, 31; cited, 161, 162; acknowl- 
edges signature and debt, 162, 163; 
lot, 183 

Verbrugge (Van Bruggen), Carel, 
protests against taking possession 
of Catskill, 106, 108; commissary 
of Fort Orange, 131; accounts, 204; 
mentioned, lOi 

Vlackte, de, farm, 95 

Vol (Fulda), in Hessen, 12 



236 



Colon}) of RensselaersW})c}^ 



Vos, Cornells Cornelissen, farm, 59; 
forbidden to carry on unlawful 
trade, 70 ; summoned, 141 ; servant, 
I77> 178, 179, 181 ; accounts, 205 

Vos, Hans, request coiDcerning Quiryn 
Cornelissen, 27; attachment of 
money, 29; ordered to complete 
term of service, 31 ; money due to, 
32; contract of service with Pieter 
Claessen, 47; beating, 48; sum- 
moned, 51 ; dismissed until after 
harvest time, 54; court messenger, 
55; dispute with Van Bremen, 57; 
attacked by Van Bremen, 58; 
slandered by Koorn, 61 ; fighting 
with Chambers, 62 ; ordered to watch 
property of Van Es and Claessen, 
74; payment of wages to, 74; 
ordered to levy animals for Evert 
Pels, 81 ; assault on, 82 ; wages, 
84; summons issued by, 84; 
slandered by Segersen, 89; pay- 
ments to, 92 ; payments to by Pels, 
93 ; testifies, 97 ; granted money for 
supervision of house, 105 ; money 
for pursuit of fugitive, 105 ; 
attached grain, 107 ; testimony 
regarding Dirck Hendricksen, no; 
slandered, 113; accounts, 123, 205, 
208; attacked by Stol, 135, 136; 
complaint about Hendricksen, 138; 
protection from assault, 139; in- 
sulted by Lambertsen, 142 ; men- 
tioned, 28, 64. 67. ^, 69, 82, 83, 
103, 140 

Vosburgh, Abraham Pietersen, at- 
tacked by Stol. 136; to act as 
referee, 160 ; accounts, 207 

Vossgen, Cornells, see Vos, Cornelis 
Cornelissen 



Waelingen, Jacob, offered lease of 
farm, 115; refused to accept offer 
of half of Casteels island, 130; 



Waelingen, Jacob — Continued 
granted permission to leave the 
colony, 130 

Waelingen (Walichsen), Simon, 48; 
money due to Hans Vos, 32 

Wampum, ordinance regulating value 
of approved, 117. See also Seawan 

Weble, Jan, 173. See also Wemp, 
Jan Barentsen 

Welys Burch, 130 

Wemp, Jan Barentsen, slandered by 
Segersen, 35, 89; requests clemency 
for servant, 112; to pay fines of 
Claes Andriessen, 113; attachment 
of moneys, 135; requested to haul 
logs, 142; garden, 158; lease ex- 
tended, 166; condemned for haul- 
ing firewood, 176; complaint about 
Claes Andriessen, 177; lot, 183; 
cattle, 183; accounts, 206, 210, 212; 
mentioned, 74, 109. See also 
Weble, Jan 

Wendel, Evert Jansen, see Jansen, 
Evert 

Wesselsen (Wessels), Jochem, re- 
quests a lot, 164 ; dispute with 
Luyersen, 167, 168, 174; cited, 173, 
182; fined, 174; injunction issued, 
182 

Westerkamp, Hendrick, permission 
to support himself in the colony, 
25; wheat for, 147; condemned for 
hauling firewood, 176; brickyard. 
194 ; accounts, 205 ; mentioned, 168 

Westval, Juiriaen, see Bestval, Juriaen 

Willems, Margariet, 87 

Willemsen, Adriaen, sentence of 
banishment, 12 

Willemstadt. 19, 23. See also Bever- 
wyck 

Wiltwyck, 22 

Witbeck, Jan Thomassen, see 
Thomas sen, Jan 

Wolves, 100 

Whiting (Wytingh), William, 39 



